February 14, 2012

We began with warm ups and played theatre games and exercises to wake up and to loosen up. We discussed the objectives of these activities: taking risks, high energy, focus and quick thinking. Participants said that the activities definitely woke up their bodies and their minds. Those who were in attendance last week said that the games/exercises are easier and more fun with more people. There was one exercise in particular that opened all of our eyes to some important realizations. In order to firmly establish our atmosphere of trust and safety, I introduced a trust-building exercise called Blind Cars. In this exercise, one person with her eyes closed is “driven” by another who gives the following commands: touch on the right shoulder, turn right; touch on the left shoulder, turn left; touch on the back, walk forward (with pressure denoting speed); no touch, stop walking. At first there was a lot of talking, which I asked them to stop, to just trust each other, and they did stop talking. There was also a lot of hesitation at first, but that largely went away as they spent more time on the exercise. Afterwards, we talked about it. The participants acknowledged that it was difficult to trust the driver, but that once they did, it gave them a sense of being free and safe. One participant said she actually had a more difficult time being the driver – the responsibility made her nervous. We discussed how this exercise, whether done as car or driver, teaches us to trust one another as partners and as an ensemble – as drivers had to be careful not to collide with one another as well.

We then moved into working with the “what a piece of work is a man” monologue, the same piece we used last week. I knew there would be new participants, and that those who had been there could go further with what they were learning, so I chose to stick with that piece. We did the same things with the monologue as last week to get the new participants caught up. We also worked on incorporating breathing into the piece. Everyone was then given as long as they wanted to read the monologue aloud to themselves before getting up to perform.

One participant came to me to share that she has a slight learning disability and was having trouble with some of the language. She read the piece to me, with me helping her when she was having trouble, and I noted that she actually was dead on with several of the more difficult words. She said that was due to hearing everyone else read them. We decided that she would read along as people read the piece in front of the class, and that she would go last to ensure that she’d had a lot of time to hear those words before she had to say them.

The participants then got up one by one to perform the piece. There was an incredible amount of insight apparent with each one. Some were eager to rush through the piece, and the group encouraged them to slow down and really commit to the emotion of it. We also discussed the character’s goal/objective and the importance of pursuing that goal. We also talked about the need for seeming spontaneous onstage and how to accomplish that. This was all well received; every person who performed took the criticisms well and improved.

We reflected on the day before leaving. The participants said that they are learning to get into their bodies, understanding where they are and how they move in space. We discussed the need to connect the mind, heart and body, and the participants are eager to continue to learn that. They are having fun and are eager to learn more.

Before she left, I checked in with the participant who has a learning disability. She said she was feeling a bit better, and I pointed out that most people were mispronouncing or stumbling over some of the words, and that it didn’t affect their performances as long as they were confident. She agreed.

All of the participants are already showing growth and continue to be enthusiastic about what they are doing. I am truly excited to see where they will go from here.

February 7, 2012

Today we began by discussing what the program could be and what the participants' expectations are. The program will be driven by what they seek to get out of it. They are very interested in becoming better at public speaking, getting up in front of people without being scared or nervous. They are also interested in learning about Shakespeare and acting in general. It was decided that the final performance, which they all want to do, will be a showcase of scenes and monologues rather than a full production. This decision was made based on the participants’ experience with people being released from prison during the rehearsal process and on audience members leaving mid-performance, which they thought would be distracting. We discussed creating a safe environment of trust and ensemble, and the importance of that in learning to express our emotions on stage. We then warmed up, and then did some theatre games and exercises to establish trust, ensemble, quick thinking and focus. Some of the exercises require strong eye contact, and we discussed the importance of that. One participant who is wary of eye contact brought up her fear, and we discussed why that might be. One participant posited that it is probably a defense mechanism, and the participant with the issue agreed.

I distributed the “What a piece of work is a man” monologue from “Hamlet.” After reading over it silently, we went around the circle, each person reading from punctuation to punctuation. We discussed what was going on in the monologue in general, and then broke it down phrase by phrase.

Everyone got up individually to read the monologue. Participants in the audience gave good constructive criticism to whomever was reading, and each person improved the second time she did the monologue. The participants then insisted that I perform the monologue, and they then expressed that they wished they had seen me do it first, since it gave them a lot of good ideas. I told them that I hadn’t because I didn’t want them to copy me, but I may do it in the future since they wanted it so much. They promised that if I did they would not copy me, but would simply use the example to give them ideas.

We then did an exercise in which each participant walks across the stage and the audience analyzes the walk. We noted that each person’s walk was different, and we discussed what about the walk communicated whatever we interpreted, and why that is important onstage, as well as in life.

In closing, we discussed how the day had gone. The participants all agreed that they had enjoyed themselves. One said she already felt less nervous about public speaking, that she already trusts the group. Another said she felt liberated by performing the monologue, and all the others agreed. They decided that they want to continue next week with monologues and do scene work later.

I am very encouraged by the discoveries everyone is already making - I am especially excited by the participant who declared that she no longer has stage fright after just two readings of the monologue. It was a very good start to the program.