LESSON EIGHT

Animal characterizations; exercise on using a minimum of effort.

First, look at the homework assignments.

Animal Characterizations: Have each member of the group practice being two different animals. Each is to select his own animals; try to select two which are very different from each other. They shouldn’t do a dog and a cat, but perhaps a dog and a bird, or a cat and a fish. Any animal, fowl, reptile, insect, is alright Try to find as many things to do as you can that the real animal does. Most important are the face and the attitude. Stretch your features into the features of your animal: If it is a bird, extend your lips into a beak. Get the expression and the feeling. When the group has practiced for five minutes or so, each can perform his two animals for the rest. Try to point out other things that the animal might do. Birds extend their heads on each step, and ruffle their feathers. Ducks drink water. Cats wash their face, and hit at string, and stretch. Explore. Step two is to evolve your animals into animallike people. Start as the animal, for instance, a frog; the frog has a stretched smile, he puffs his cheeks out periodically, and his tongue flicks out at bugs. Gradually stand up from the frog position, keeping the essential expression on your face, but modifying it so that it becomes more human, and let this character occasionally puff out his cheeks, but in a human manner, and let his flicking of the tongue become licking the lips. Now say a line of dialogue, any line. The physical position will modify the manner of speaking. Do not change your voice: Try to use your own voice, but allow it to be changed only by the physical character. Now evolve your other animal into an animallike human, and say the same line of dialogue. There will be a difference. The more of the physical characteristics you can translate into human mannerisms, the more interesting the character will be. If you are ever doing a play in which you see that the character you must play is, for instance, chickenlike, always start at the beginning to achieve your characterization. Do not immediately play a chickenlike person; start as a chicken, find as many things as you can that a chicken might do, and then evolve into the chickenlike person. It is a good idea to have five or six of these characterizations well-practiced, so that you can use them whenever you may need them. When you perform the animallike character and say the line of dialogue, don’t show the evolution—just do the finished characters.

Exercise on Using a Minimum of Effort: On the stage, just as in any other strenuous activity, it is important to conserve energy. You must do what is simplest and most direct, without wasted effort. The following is an exercise, which, if done properly, may change your life. Lie on the floor, on your back, and, using a minimum of effort, get to your feet. That’s all. It should take a least five minutes. Feel as if you have been going through the desert for three day, without food or water, and you have no strength or energy left. You mus use leverage to get to your feet: Don’t lift anything when you can slide it, " staying limp; use one part of your body to move another. Gradually find your way to your feet, and don’t stop until you are all the way up. If you do it right, It will make you high. It will give you the experience of using a minimum of effort, and that experience can stay with you and influence your future performances. It is even better if you take ten or fifteen minutes.

Homework Assignment: 

Bring in a sketch using a character based on an animal in a short scene.