Drama in the Classroom, day two, in brief:
- Review/Preview
- Yoga
- Journal Sharing
- Drama Lesson (Pantomime)
- Break
- Article Discussion
- Drama Lesson (Tableau)
Today we did two full lessons, the first on Pantomime, and the second on Tableau, but we started everything with Yoga.
For a class this early and this long, any sort of physical activity is sure to be of help. I have yet to fall asleep in class, let's see how well Yoga works. I'm not that flexible, I quit track my senior year of high school, and only run once a year, mostly to prove that I still can. I'll try to do the stretches the best I can, but I can't help but look foolish next to the girl who can sit on the floor with her legs open 180° (I can't even go 90°). Nevertheless I feel refreshed, and ready to stay awake for three more hours.
>>>>>>>>>> Yoga <<<<<<<<<<
For a class this early and this long, any sort of physical activity is sure to be of help. I have yet to fall asleep in class, let's see how well Yoga works. I'm not that flexible, I quit track my senior year of high school, and only run once a year, mostly to prove that I still can. I'll try to do the stretches the best I can, but I can't help but look foolish next to the girl who can sit on the floor with her legs open 180° (I can't even go 90°). Nevertheless I feel refreshed, and ready to stay awake for three more hours.
>>>>>>>>>> Pantomime <<<<<<<<<<
The first lesson was on Pantomime, but before that we were asked to leave the room and line up outside the door. Here we were assuming the role of 1st graders. Leaving the room served both to form a separation in our mind between past and future, and as an example of having a ritual for starting class. Vershawn's ritual for us was to enter the class in character. Having the first thing we do be something ridiculous makes it a lot more comfortable to do ridiculous things later. Our choices were frog or toad, I chose toad and lumbered into the room, others followed, loudly ribbiting and hopping.
Next we did several Pantomime exercises. As an Improv actor, I use pantomime all the time. I cringe when people walk through imaginary objects. I might even be obsessive compulsive when it comes to imaginary objects. Once I handed a fellow improvisor an invisible cup, after a moment he "dropped" it, he ceased to acknowledge it's existence by relaxing his hand. I felt such a wave of discomfort and compulsion come over me that I demanded to have my cup back. Simply recreating it in my hand was not enough, I needed to have that cup back. Everyone else looked at me funny, probably because this all happened offstage. Long story short, I've done a lot of pantomime. I've taught it too, as captian of Paperback Rhino. As a teacher I've seen people at all levels of mime skill. Some carry all objects with a closed fist, some use their pinky and thum as a telephone, others commit murder with their index fingers extended. After some time I'll see them lightly carrying a baby on stage, gently setting it in it's crib, the next improvisor will come up, walk directly to the crib, accurate to inches, and close the gate. I saw several levels of skill today, I have to admit I was paying more attention to others than myself. One thing I know I did poorly was the second object I pulled from our imaginary box. It took a little longer than I'd hoped for someone to realize it was a goldfish bowl.
We ended the lesson with partner Pantomime of a story. All the groups performed at the same time, which had the benifit of allowing instant comparison as well as eliminating the anxiety that can come with performing for an audience. Of course, then there's the question, why am I performing if no one is watching?
Next we did several Pantomime exercises. As an Improv actor, I use pantomime all the time. I cringe when people walk through imaginary objects. I might even be obsessive compulsive when it comes to imaginary objects. Once I handed a fellow improvisor an invisible cup, after a moment he "dropped" it, he ceased to acknowledge it's existence by relaxing his hand. I felt such a wave of discomfort and compulsion come over me that I demanded to have my cup back. Simply recreating it in my hand was not enough, I needed to have that cup back. Everyone else looked at me funny, probably because this all happened offstage. Long story short, I've done a lot of pantomime. I've taught it too, as captian of Paperback Rhino. As a teacher I've seen people at all levels of mime skill. Some carry all objects with a closed fist, some use their pinky and thum as a telephone, others commit murder with their index fingers extended. After some time I'll see them lightly carrying a baby on stage, gently setting it in it's crib, the next improvisor will come up, walk directly to the crib, accurate to inches, and close the gate. I saw several levels of skill today, I have to admit I was paying more attention to others than myself. One thing I know I did poorly was the second object I pulled from our imaginary box. It took a little longer than I'd hoped for someone to realize it was a goldfish bowl.
We ended the lesson with partner Pantomime of a story. All the groups performed at the same time, which had the benifit of allowing instant comparison as well as eliminating the anxiety that can come with performing for an audience. Of course, then there's the question, why am I performing if no one is watching?
>>>>>>>>>> Tableau <<<<<<<<<<
Next we did a drama lesson on Tableau. I enjoyed this a lot, especially because it was more interactive than Pantomime. Tableau is very similar to the Improv games Slidshow or Stage Picture. This is a form I'd like to see a lot more in my Improv, so I was excited to do it. We did several warming up excercises where we were told to become a certain object, a tree or shape for example. We were then instructed to create "Complementary Pair Statues".
Complentary Pair Statues: An excercise for two people (can be done in several pairs). The actors stand back to back, they are given a general situation, then a countdown. Both actors are to then turn around and assume complementary poses. This is to be done as fast as possible, silently, and then held for at least five seconds.That excercise was a lot of fun, and I'll probably use it for PbR. Finally we got with groups and created a Triptych Tableau of a Fairy Tale of our choice. We chose Cinderella. I, as the only male, became Prince Charming. We were instructed to create three stage pictures. Unlike the pantomime exercise, this one had an audience. It was difficult not to be affected by the audience's reactions. I think our group did very well. Nearly everyone in our group was completely confidant and comfortable, and that helped our performance a lot.
Examples:
-Doctor's Office: A doctor with a syringe and a nervous patient.
-Baseball: A pitcher and a batter.
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