Vocal training and puppet making

Rehearsing for the school play this week for me was only once. We change a lot the scene we had been rehearsing the last weeks. We had to start using the scaffolds; I think the use of the scaffolds will help a lot because it gets visually more interesting, so the audience doesn’t get bored.  A good, well distributed use of the space helps to give dynamism to the scene, therefore the scaffolds helps on this.

Then I had to change the voice of my character, this was very difficult for me because I couldn’t think in which voice to do, I think that in the physical exploring we are lacking of vocal training and would be helpful to build characters in the different performance to start doing it. Although I didn’t have the help of the vocal training, it took me a little more time but I finally found the voice of my character. In the last rehearsal that I use this new voice for my character I the change of voice really cut the connection between me and my character and this helps to develop my character further on.

Then making puppets, well this doesn’t really need theatrical skills, but it does need concentration. Concentration is needed to do the work fast but nice. This week I realize that the creative part of a play can make the production very difficult. For the school play the game is very creative to start with and this makes the dialog sometimes difficult because we are oblied that the character represented by the audience to be present in all the scene so we have to be careful that all what its said its only what the character can hear. This is different from “Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” that the characters could show or make dialogs without the problem that someone more is listening and can’t know what they are talking about. Then the puppets and masks; this two things are essential for the play we are doing, we can’t take them out, this takes a lot of time to prepare. The masks are much easier but puppets are really laborious. I think that for the next time we have to take in account how difficult would be the creative part and how much time we have. I don’t think that choosing puppets and masks wasn’t the right decision, but maybe because of the complicity of the production for this we could have started before (maybe in vacations).

I wonder, what could I do to develop my vocal skills? Why in theatre is so important the voice if in reality a person doesn’t choose his voice because of its personality, its just born that way. Why can I just intonate by voice different to express different feelings, why the whole voice needs to be changed sometimes?

Watching, analysing and learning. (Mades and Medus vs. Más pequeños que el Guggenheim)

“Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” This week highlight for me was this theatre play. I could clearly see the characterization of one character and really enjoy and have fun of a play while in my head the analysing keep going.

First, the costume. In “Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” the costumes really help for the characterization as it showed physically the personality of the different characters. In “Mades medus” I think the costume was not appropriate, it did a contrast to the philosophical text that was being worked in the play which was sometimes sad, but it wasn’t really the appropriate to represent two actors I think. From this two experiences I think that costumes have to be clear, and if the costumes are representing something abstract you need to be the less messy as possible, keep it simple because if not it can lead to confusion and unwanted effects in the audience.

Focussing in the props, as its what I am the responsible for props in the school play (props and puppets) I paid close attention to them. In “Mades medus” the prop that most catch up my attention was the candle. I think that this little prop, which is unusual, catch up the attention of the audience and creates an effect depending on the connection they give it to the play. As part of the audience the candle make me feel hope, because although all the problems Mades and Medus where talking about there was a light… These types of props that can be physically clear and represent what they are, I mean it was a candle and it was used as a candle, can be used because of their double meanings to create a deeper reflection in the audience.

In the other hand in “Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” There where not much props used but the ones used for example the bench that was the one that most catch up my attention, didn’t look as what it was used for, but the actors made the function of the bench change with the use of their body expressions (for example when the characters used the bench as a motorcycle). This two different techniques of using props where very interesting and for example in the scene I have been rehearsing for the school play I think the mirror can be used as in “Mades Medus” and it will be interesting that in different scenes there is a prop that change its function… Well that’s an idea that the director of the play have to decide if its included or not.

Finally the physical part, in “Más pequeños que el Guggenheim” I couldn’t really see the working from the outside to the inside… I even thought that the characters where worked from the inside to the outside as the physical part was very similar to real life, I mean stereotyped. It can also be that the actors have done a lot of exploration and therefore chosen very carefully the movements that most fit to the character. Although I can’t be sure about it I can say that it wasn’t clear which technique was used by only watching the play. In “Mades Medus” I did clearly see the physical work, I think that the highlight of this play where the actors as they physically showed a lot of control on their bodies and the movements and expressions where different that in real life. I could clear see some of the exercises we have been doing in Kenzo’s Grotowski physical workshop (but more developed). Watching the actors’ dominance of their bodies encouraged me to continue the workshop, and although I have always had a lot of interest in the workshop this performance showed me how helpful this physical exploring is. After the sessions we have done I have really enjoyed and feel effect of the physical exploring while performing I realize that the sessions are coming to an end but I feel I will continue the physical exploring by my own. 

Now I ask my self… What will differ from a group physical exploring and a personal physical exploring without even a person that guides the exercises? What prop could change its role to appear to be different objects? And how this prop will change its role?

Physical Exploring

Physical exploring was the main activity this week. Letting the energy accumulate in our centre on energy and start exploring the voice and body (movements). I think this is an important exercise because it helps your body to become a tool while acting and you discover many movements that can be used later while performing and it also helps to develop concentration.

I the other hand the school play its developing each day more and I feel it’s more difficult to continue. In my scene I think fortunately we have reach a grade of concentration that so that everybody focuses in their actions, so that the movements are not any more based on the actor but in the character. Now we can see the difference between the actor and the character. Now I think what more can it be done to develop more the character of the servants so they really look like servants? How the masks will help to represent the servants?

In the theorical part we focus on how to analyse a play or a scene. This was really helpful while doing my research. I have finished my research by now, there are just some little details left to be fixed. With the script I could analyse the different parts and start applying the convections to the play easier. It was easier to think about what convection was or could be use by analysing first and I also get to predict the effect it would have, and not just talk about the element. How can I include the effect I have discovered in my research? Should I talk about it too? While doing my research i have and thinking about the physical exploring i have notice that in Noh theatre the movements are very different that daily life movements and this makes it very interesting, may noh actors use physical exploring too before acting?

Finally I ask my self would it be useful to do the physical exploring with everybody in the school play as the use of mask and puppets need a better knowledge of the different possible movements your body can do?

The physical training and performance

This week I realized that doing the physical training of Grotowski for Kenzo’s Extended Essay was really helping me in performance. As I practice my scene on Tuesday I started exploring my character and realize how the different exercises I have been doing for the physical training were very useful for founding the best way of the character to walk or to talk and how the movements will be. 

The concentration is an essential element for the training because if not all the energy is lost and the exercises aren’t being useful as the necessary focus and energy isn’t being put in by the actor. Concentration helps to develop more the activities and learn more. When I practiced my scene I could have more concentration and this helped me to memorize my lines.

As I continue with my research, I have been watching various videos and images of different masks and the Hagoromo play (the play in which I’m basing my research) I realize how important are convections in a play as all the audience understands it and sometimes knows about them. When I watched the Hagoromo video the first time I get different effects that when I saw and reed the script now as I am aware and realize the different convections used know that I have read more about the Noh Theatre.

Doing research makes you a kind of specialist on what your research is about. Know that I’m doing my research in Noh masks; I really know a lot about them and understand better the use of them in the Noh Plays. At the same time I also get to know not only about Noh masks but of Noh because of the books I’m reading for my research. Get to know different traditions opens your mind for new ideas which can be used later adapting them to the convections of the target audience for the play.  

So know that I have learned and realize these things this holy week I question my self… Is the physical training useful for noh theatre too? Can the things learned in this training be applied for any theatre tradition?

Puppets and Effects

Puppets!! We already talked in class about puppets and the different kind of puppets that exist... but I never thought on the effect these caused. In photos we have seen in class with Roberto and in the workshop with Martin and Maria Laura everybody in the class went like “WOW” and get surprised with very big puppets or maybe laughter was created by some funny characteristic of the puppets. In “Vedova in Lumine” the effect created was that I don’t wanted to see any more and disturbance… but focusing on the puppet shows that TÁRBOL presented I get other type of effects. In the first puppet show the effect was laughter and in the second one the effect was wonder and surprise.

Puppets can have different effect depending on how you animate them, what actions they do, size, how they look like, the colours, and more. All these combined together creates different effects on the audience. In “Juancha y Mariacha” the colours and the exaggerated actions the dog could do make the audience feel happy and animated. When I saw this puppet show I realized also that not only the appearance of the puppet is important but how you manage the movement to look alike and the voice you give to the puppets. In the other puppet show Tárbol demonstrated, “Santuario de Febriles Sonrisas” I could notice again how all the aesthetics I mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph also created different effects.  The use the use of black and white only created seriousness on the puppet show. The size made it really focused and so the actions and movement of the puppets where more precise…. As it was real and made it really intense. In this puppet show I could understand what Martin was talking about when he said that puppets can do things that human’s can’t. The slow motion effect used for the seizure used this advantage of the puppets for example, as it made the puppet “float” on the space and created a surprising effect. 

Juancha y Mariacha

Santuario de Febriles Sonrisas

Starting to make my own puppet was so difficult… I am not very good with the hands and I am not very patient either. Working on the puppet made me realize how each thing you do with the sponge will have an effect on what the puppet will be able or not to do so the purpose of the puppet have to be really clear.

I wonder if the “non-professional” looking of the puppets will create an effect too… or is just an insignificant aspect.