Movement

Movement was a crucial part to our process, especially with two silent characters in the script. Movement can act as the bridge between the “real” and “surreal” worlds of the play. The action in a scene can often be more truth telling than what is being said.

We had a series of movement workshops with guest artist Esme Vaandrager during the process. We started with more disciplined movement, using “Viewpoints”. Eventually, we began to explore authentic movement, and let the characters evolve.



Here are a couple of the image games and movement activities that we did during Esme's workshops:

Complete the Image

This is a game that should be done in pairs. During this image game, one person would create a still image. Their partner would then complete the image by creating a still image that compliments the first one. The first person to create an image then steps out, and creates a new complimentary image. This completely changes the meaning of the image, which can be very interesting.

Fill in the Space

This activity can be done in pairs or with the whole group. One person starts out by creating a still image. Similary to Complete the Image, a second person comes and creates a complimentary image. However, they must fill in the negative spaces of person one's bodies. Be creative; look at the space between fingers, behind knees, etc. Once the second person has added themself, the first person steps out of the image, and a new person fills in the space.

Authentic Movement

This can be done in silence, although it is sometimes easier to do with music. If music is used, make sure to steer the participants away from their initial instinct to dance. Authentic movement is about clearing your mind and allowing yourself to move your body in new, authentic ways. This activity can go on for a good fifteen or twenty minutes. Sometimes it helps if the participants are given a prompt to think about. We started by thinking about circles, and eventually "invited our characters into our bodies" by channeling specific moments in the script or images of black stereotypes that we had researched on our own.