Thursday 26th November 2015
At the beginning of the lesson, as a collective group we looped the first 3 counts of 8 , the purpose of this was to ensure the movement and dynamics where in our muscle memory, allowing us to make them more clean and sharp in our own rehearsal times.
Afterwards we re-watched the video of a theatre group's chair duet interpretation inspired by the style
of Frantic Assembly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ_9Eaog2yw
Again we were taught a new 4 counts of 8 to add onto the previous movements.
Like before we continuously looped each count, keep practising focusing on the action and dynamics on the movement, e.g heavy head drop, sharp turn. We also combined direction , e.g heavy head drop facing the floor , sharp torso turn to the left of stage. By concentrating and outlining these columns in our dance grids, is aided our rehearsal process as it forced us to consider all aspects which in turn made my sequence more sharp and aesthetically appealing as the audience could see clearly the message we were aiming to convey , having our movement in our muscle memory allows us to also perform with more confidence, a key characteristic required and recommended by Frantic Assembly in performance.
As we are striving to create a piece with Frantic Assembly's unique style analysing their videos of similar activities (chair duets) will make it easier to adopt their style of work especially through using similar rehearsal techniques to continually repeat the motifs
Individually I decided to use the mirrors as a solo rehearsal technique. Using this technique I was able to visually identify how accurate my actions in the studio and at home by making a comparison to the guidelines of my dance grid.
One key aspect I needed to work on was within the 3rd count, we have to pull our lower torso and legs through our arms whilst on the floor. When rehearsing I found myself taking a short cut and swinging my legs round opposed to pulling them through.
In the unfocused post show discussion led by our teacher to the class, I received the same comment. This highlighted this action as an area to focus on. As a result I kept looping the same count repeating the movement. I found my feet were too dry and being barefoot made it difficult to glide my feet through. Due to some injury with friction burns caused from the rehearsal , I was advise to apply a bandage on top to prevent further friction. This made it much easier to glide my legs through my arms, and I was able to successfully improve on my work.
Additionally as a company we were given the following feedback...
1. More emphasise on dynamics
2.Dont take short cuts when pulling legs through (already self reflected and improved)
3.Emphasise actions to demonstrate the full range of movement, consider all parts of the body, the dynamics and direction too to ensure the movement is sharp, tidy and clear.
4. Consolidate end transition in order to meet timings for next repeated motif.
Afterwards we were given individual suggestions. I was informed to have sharp dynamics as listed in my dance grids. Previously they weren't clear enough and therefore made my actions look messy and disrupted the fluidity. To improve, I used the mirrors and my dance grid and focused on various dynamics listed within them to improve upon my work. To do this I clearly notated dynamics to include , for example if the action and direction is "head drop face the floor" the dynamic I listed and implicated was "heavy" this drew emphasis to the tiredness and exhaustion the character was feeling which can be linked with the 4:48 script due to the characters mental condition and constant care under tight supervision causing the exhaustion.
Another dynamic I improved on was my hair flip particularly on Bar 3 ,beat 7. We need to flop our upper torso down heavily, facing the floor, and then flip back up sharply and slide down the chair. When first doing this action, I didn't flip my head sharply enough, due to the lack of force and speed my hair would fall over my face prohibiting my vision and becoming a distraction from the movement as ide have to use my hands to move it away. To solve this I was told to use more force in my upper torso and more power to whip my hair down and up fully. After several attempts I managed to get the idea and was able to successfully correct this dynamic.
Below shows the clip of me doing the movement incorrectly, by sliding my legs around, after I show the correct way that I way able to successfully achieve and put into my muscle memory and into the chair motifs.
Thursday 19th November
This lesson we were showed a video of Frantic Assembly's chair duets, as well as a class theatre groups end of year performance inspired by the duets done by Frantic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ_9Eaog2yw
After watching the videos, we were taught 3 counts of 8 to learn, practice and eventually loop 4 times.
In groups we kept practicing the counts over and over. Several times I missed a count and got confused on some of the actions. Yet after practice as a group we used the unfocused rehearsal technique, which consisted of several of the other students to watch each of us and give us generalised improvements to make on the movements, dynamics etc.
After the first lesson of the week we were tasked with creating a separate dance grid for each set of 8. There were 5 columns: Beats/Bar, Weight placement, Action, Direction and Guidance. This allowed us to break down each of the beats and distinguish where the weight is distributed, the action itself, where the direction of your body and focus where as at times they went in different directions. Also guidance was helpful as it was extra notes, for example "sharp dynamics" or "heaviness as head drops".
Thursday 12th November 2015
This lesson we watch a clip of an Ignition workshop run by Frantic Assembly. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/frantic-assembly-masterclass-learning-to-fly
The purpose of this was to again work on our trust exercises, with attempting more advanced
lifts.
At first we went over previous counterbalances and lifts that we did previously in a Metro Boulot Dodo workshop.
Afterwards we lined up facing eachother in two even lines. We had one person stand between the lines facing downstage, they were the rock. They had a strong stance, legs apart, strong core. Next was the person being lifted. At first they'de walk towards the rock, place their hands on their shoulders and lift their dominant leg. Then the line on the side of the raised leg each help up a section, hips , thigh & shin. The people on the opposite side then also grabbed in the key areas hips,high and shin. By supporting the heaviest sections through the body its allowed the lift to be strong, stable and safe.
Afterwards each of us had placed out trust into the rest of the group, we effectively improved our teamwork abilities and communication as each lift was executed safely and correctly. Now we had more trust with each other it allowed us to be able to then explore more advanced lifts in the future.
Friday 6th November
Frantic Assembly has a unique physical performance style, combined with movement, design, music and text. The company has performed , created and collaborated in 30 different countries worldwide.
They operate a learn and trade program which introduces 6,000 new participants each year for their learn and train program.
The director Scott Graham was raised in Corby, and has often run various workshops in his hometown.
Frantic's rehearsal process can be very long. It may take years for an idea to get into the rehearsal room and before it does it has to be agreed upon with the directions ,reshaped and presented to producers and other collaborators swell as a writer, who may be engaged to create a full draft for the first day of rehearsal. That script then becomes the launch pad and inspiration for most of Frantic's devising pieces.
As they develop their rehearsal process they take advantage of generous opportunities to try out ideas through establishments for example the National Theatre Studios. Its useful as its focussed and disciplined while leaving time for further exploration which is what our devised pieces will need to be.
Frantic Assembly also have a physical theatre training for young men only aged 16-20, called
"Ignition" . It seeks out talent in unexpected places, from sports groups to youth groups in areas
of low engagement and high deprivation. Their workshops are described as
"physically dynamic" and "high risk".
From Glasgow to Plymouth, Swansea to Hull, 12 of the brightest and bravest young men from the Trials come together to form a company and live together in London. Over 5 days they create an original performance with Frantic Assembly's Artistic & Associate Director. All costs are covered and 24 hour pastoral support is given, to ensure all can participate in this life-changing week.
A key piece of advice Frantic Assembly give is " The first stepping stone, is cutting out all unwanted stimuli. Relying on just touch, no verbal communication".
Further information can be found from this link ... http://www.franticassembly.co.uk/media/media/downloads/Frantic_Assembly_Resource_Pack_2012.pdf
Thursday 5th November 2015
Firstly as a group we did a physical activity. We each walked in and out of the space in various directions keeping a steady and constant speed as a group. Collectively we had to stop at the exact same time without the use of verbal communication to block out all the unwanted stimuli. The purpose of the synchronised movement was the learn to develop our sensory skills, to use our senses to infer when the group began to come to a stop. This allowed us to be more aware of each others movements.
Next we added another step. Not only did we have to collectively stop at the same time, we had to form a circle and hold hands. I did this by using my senses, I listened and paid attention to the others footsteps, as they got softer i knew they were slowing down. The group also got closer as we were about to form the circle so more eye contact between the company helped to initiate the formation of the circle.
Once we formed a circle we grabbed opposite hands and twisted and turned to create a human knot. Again using non verbal communication we untangled ourselves using different levels and pressure between our hands to indicate where to move. This allowed us to be in close quarters and contact with each other allowing us to become more comfortable and build on our team working skills as we had to work as a group to untangle one person at a time.
Lastly we took part in another trust activity with similar intentions to the hoop untangling. We formed a small circle, each touching shoulders. One person stood up straight in the centre with a strong core and posture, they then fell in any direction, we gently kept pushing the person around the circle in various directions. Next we took a step or two back and made the circle larger. The intention of the activity was to build trust, so we slowly made the circle larger and therefore the fall. We had a strong stance, as well as our hands placed out in front of us ready to push the person as they fell into our hands. This was repeated with each member.
In conclusion in the beginning we all felt uncomfortable, we weren't trusting in each other which hindered our ability to work well as a group particularly in terms of sensing movement. Yet we excluded all unwanted stimuli the activities were able to strengthen and develop our skills in each activity allowing us at the end to be more confident, trusting in each other and aware of each other, as we were no longer worried about any of our insecurities.
