Stanislavsky and Action

Third Session.

To begin with, in pairs we do non-contact improvisation.

Still trying to get economy of effort.
We then all choose an article of clothing to put on. A jacket, shoes, tracksuit bottoms, socks or a coat. We practise or rehearse (La repetition: rehearsal in French) this action. Then form a circle and watch each other doing it.

We notice the details. Sometimes something 'goes wrong'; a tracksuit bottom gets rucked up. We are not to worry about this. Incorporate it. Things 'go wrong' in life.

We talk about what we're seeing. It's an ACTION. It has a beginning, a middle and an end.

We then rehearse seeing how many sub-actions exist within it. We break it down into discrete movements. And count how many our ACTION contains. Some find 23. Some find fifty something.

Amazing. Fifty actions, all lined up in exactly the right order to get to the place that we're trying to get to. Something that every human being can achieve without a moments thought. But a skill, we reflect, that can be easily lost by a head injury, a stroke or Alzheimers.

We reflect also that this is a physical action with AN OBJECTIVE, i.e. to put the shoes, socks or whatever on.

Now, in front of the group, one student voluteers to do her action again blindfolded. She does. And with hardly any difference from her original effort, apart from a slight tentativeness while reaching for the article.

We ask her to do it again. This time the task is a bit more difficult. The coat is tied in knots and turned inside out. The student still fulfils her objective. So, what's different? Ah ha! She now has an OBSTACLE.

In pairs the students work together, each blindfolding the other and giving her an obstacle to overcome. All overcome their obstacles.

So, what's different? Very little. We fairly effortlessly incorporate the obstacles into the action. And no-one, once they've got round their obstacle stops there. Once over it, they continue to finish their action and achieve their objective. Without exception.

We then take the text:

A: Hello
B: Hello
A: What are you doing here?
B: It's none of your business
A: Yes it is.
B: No, it isn't.
A: Yes it is.
B: No, it isn't.
(Action)
A: Oh, that's all right then.

Students are to decide what the situation is an then together design objectives for both A and B.
It's interesting. We get a whole lot of different results. Not all of them are situations of conflict. Some are ones of attraction. One character 'chatting up' another. Or both interested in the other but too shy just to march up to them to say: 'Would you like to come to the club with me tonight?'

In which case the obstacle is their own shyness, perhaps.

Sometimes we have a situation in which a habitual shoplifter is in a store and sees the detective on the one occasion when she's actually paid for items. Her objective, hence, is to wind up the store detective. The store detective's is to catch her.In another situation a woman in a doctor's waiting room is trying to get past the receptionist.

Finally we do the Duck Pond Improvisation. Parent and Child in the park. The parent's objective is to sit in the sun as far away from the dirty and dangerous duck pond as possible - sunbathe and eat sandwiches. The child wants to feed the ducks.

Stuff comes up. At first Noura is having lots of fun being naughty, but Fola isn't fulfilling his objective enough in the role. He needs to have more STAKE in his objective. He's allowing his 'daughter' to get away with too much. It's an unequal contest. The sound of one hand clapping.

And not very interesting.

This is pointed out. He begins to fulfil his objective much more strongly.

We then add Fola's 'brother'. His objective is to 'keep the peace'. Sometimes he takes Fola's side, sometimes Noura's, not always getting on the right side of either. Now we have a three-way scene.

And as Steve points out, we could add another character (a little boy who wants Noura to go to the duckpond with her) or his snobby mum, or the parkeeper etc etc. Each one with a precise objective that keeps the tensions pulled tight across the fabric of the scene.

Finally we talk about TACTICS. The naughty daughter employs different tactics to get what she wants. If one doesn't work she switches to another. She charms on some occasions. On others she makes her mother feel guilty. She lies on a third. Deceives on a fourth - and so on.

If at first you don't succeed - try something else.