New Vocabulary

At the end of the nights this week we have started to use the phrase "LOCKING IT IN" which allows us to all be on the same page about which discoveries we definitely want to keep as part of the piece we are creating. This way we can start to build around those things and accumulate rather than always starting from scratch. Some of the things that we "locked in" the past couple nights were: 3 pieces of instrumental music that really felt like they belonged in the world of our piece, using the wheelchair that Paige has been playing in since she hurt her foot, two towers, using the space in the round, using characters magical powers to tell the story, the daughters splitting up as an important moment. As the process goes on, we can open the door to these rooms that we have locked in and go deeper into them in order to fill out our piece.


After we say what is "locked in" we ask ourselves what we want to be locked in soon. What we are wanting to know. For example, last night people said that they wanted to use their props and that they wanted to find out more about the characters that are the townspeople. This way, I know how to better structure rehearsal for the next day.

Here are some other terms that we have been using - feel free to steal them!

PROCESS

• POPCORN - A quick idea that came from playing, observing, or marinating overnight.
• WHAT IF... - A way to build on an idea or get us thinking outside of the box we might be in. During any exercise or improvisation some can chime in with a what if.
• THIS REMINDS ME OF... - A way to connect what we are doing to other exercises or real life experiences.
• ANYBODY, ANYBODY - A prompt to get people to say "This reminds me of..." or "What if"  
• SOMEBODY ELSE - Talking with someone outside of our process about what our play/process is like and bringing that conversation back to the ensemble.
• VERSUS - Ways to polarize and describe our world. ie) dark vs. light, chaos, vs. order, isolation vs. community, innocence vs. guilt. We then play with these things physically in mask.
• PARKBENCH - A process of visualizing the story or a scene in our imagination either as individuals or as a group. And then popcorning one image out loud at a time while everyone shifts their own picture to include that image.
• TABLEAU - A frozen picture of an event or moment in the story.
• ENCOURAGE DYNAMIC RATHER THAN DETAIL - Starting to simplify and use bigger brush strokes within our story where we focus on the dynamic or push and pull between two characters rather than a he said/she said way of thinking.

WORKING IN THE MASKS

• WAXWORKS - Sculpting another persons body into a full mask character.
• BODY ATTITUDE - One shape that a character holds themselves in physical.
• PITCH - The amount of tension a character has in their body.
• RHYTHM - The pattern in which a character walks.
• VOLUME - The amount of space a character takes up with their body 
• STEPPING ONE MONTH AT A TIME - Thinking and moving in a way where every step is one month or even one year in order to move in suspended time and at a higher volume with one intention.
• CHARACTER MATRIX - Every character has a limited physical vocabulary of their own to choose from which includes: A prop, 3 ways to sit, three ways/shapes to stand and walking with each one, a piece of music, a superpower gesture & reaction to the effect.
• ANGLES OF THE HEAD - 3 ways to look out of the mask at things by just moving the neck.
• IN THE SPIRIT OF THE CLAPPING GAME - Including the audience as if they want you to do something or as if they hold the secret.
• LOOK, SEE, GO - Looking toward something, inhaling to absorb/let it effect you, and then moving toward it with that reaction playing out
• PLUNGE - Each person trying on and playing with a lot of different masks in a short time.
• THINK WITH YOUR HANDS - Showing us just what you are thinking, feeling, being effected by just by isolating your movement to your hands.
• BLANK CANVAS - A "neutral" body position where anything is possible.

I will keep adding more new ways of talking about things to this post as we go!

Thanks!
Kali