I was speaking to someone recently about our training process-- the fact that we meet once a week or more year-round, even when we are not in rehearsal for a specific project.
So, why do we train?
In most North American productions, actors are cast in a project shortly before rehearsals begin. Projects are usually scheduled to have between 3-6 weeks of rehearsal, with most rehearsal schedules lasting about four weeks. Actors in any given show may come from many different schools of thought regarding theories of acting, different attitudes about the rehearsal process, with different artistic backgrounds and wildly disparate vocabularies.
Obviously this doesn't mean that wonderful theatre cannot occur even under these circumstances, but it does mean that these rehearsal processes have to cover a lot of ground. Sometimes it is hard for actors and directors to communicate with each other when they come from different educational backgrounds or have different ideas about the way theatre should work. Actors are asked not to "give notes" to each other or talk in a critical way about the scene when they are not in the presence of the director, as egos can be easily bruised. Actors are usually powerless within the casting process-- they can audition, but beyond that they must simply wait, hoping that they will be "picked."
With Magis, some of us have been working together for more than 6 years within the group, and for as much as 14 years total, dating back to the founders' days in graduate school at the Columbia School of the Arts. In fact, the main idea behind the founding of the company was based on the wishes of the founders to continue some of the group activities and exercises we had learned at Columbia and to discover new ways of combining these training modalities to make new connections. After we had been working together for a few years, we started the process of formalizing as a company, but training has always been at the heart of the company's mission. Training brings us together as an ensemble and gives us a common vocabulary we can use during the rehearsal process.
For instance, Margi Sharp Douglas and I have each played parts, some large, some small, in all of Magis' productions so far. She has played my mother, my father (check out the pictures of her in drag as the Old Shepherd in The Winter's Tale!), my sister, my rival, my disapproving aunt-in-law-to-be. The relationships we create on stage are of course going to be richer because of our long history together. But this is not just because we have known each other for a long time. We have taught each other in class, discussed what we wanted for the company, sometimes argued and sometimes competed, and over the years we have developed a vocabulary to talk about any issues that may arise. Sometimes in a joking way, sometimes in a serious way, we can say, "Oh, this is like that scene in The Great Divorce," or "Remember the exercise with the tabla rhythms?" Training together has given us a great respect for each other, and a history that we can each refer to when questions come up. We can give each other feedback without being afraid of offending each other.
When projects are considered, we can look at a script, and think about what parts might be good for different members of the company. I can say, "Oh, that would be a great part for Wendy" or "Does this part have to be played by a man?" or "I know I wouldn't usually be cast this way, but I'd like to read for the villain." While the final casting decisions always rest with the director, we try to make room for actors to put themselves forward for specific roles-- to have some agency within the process. We are going to be starting our formal rehearsals for Shakuntala in January, but we have been experimenting with the play and learning Indian storytelling techniques since September, and thinking about the play for several years. Training year-round gives us an opportunity to play around before making final casting decisions.
But beyond the benefit for the ensemble, training is also beneficial for me as an actor in any venue. In the past, I often felt totally unsure about whether I would have a good performance on stage or not. Some days, I would feel like "the muse" was with me. My timing would be on, my energy would be good, I could feel a real connection with the audiences. Other times, I would stand up on stage and feel like I had nothing to give. My performance would meet acceptable minimum competency standards, but wouldn't be anything special.
Training gives me a way to encourage the muse to show up more often. At an audition, in rehearsal, or in performance, I know that I have been given a set of tools that will enable me to do my best. Sure, there are still times when I feel especially "on," and days when I may not be as brilliant as I might be on another occasion, but I know that I can trust my training background to be there for me. I can choose from the many ways we have worked on text in our classes to help me through any challenge. By training, I am clearing the way for the muse, and while she may not show up every time, I am better prepared than if I had not given her room to arrive. I am setting a place for her at my table, and opening the door.
--Erika
Showing posts with label Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Training. Show all posts
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Finding The Common Ground
It has been helpful to me recently to try to find the common ground between all of the different forms of training that we work with and then to actively find how I can apply that common ground to the actual text and work.
All the different forms of training that we do demand action. The emphasis is placed on the doing and if there is any thinking to be done, it is best done either on our feet or in reflection after much doing. Our bodies are our greatest tool for "text work."
All the different forms of training encourage us to use our imagination. From images of the voice/pilates work or the images of the Niky/viewpoints training. Yet, I think that imagination is a area where our training can grow. How can we more actively engage our imaginations in the training?
I find that all the forms of training encourage me to concentrate. I actually think our current training is ideal for the development of concentration and attention. I think that concentration and attention on stage is a Magis strength.
Relaxation is something I find we could do more of in training. Maybe it is just me, but I find that because the training is so physical and active, I always feel that I need to be "DOING" something. How can we find more relaxation in our training without losing the rigor that we have? How can we learn to "Do," and "Be" at the same time.
Another area where any actor always needs to grow is in a sense of truth and naturalism. As in the above paragraph, everything that we do is so active and the text is so rich, but the question must be "how do I feel like a real person with a sense of truth and faith in what I am doing?" How can we be active and engage rich text, and yet seem of this world and not of some alien theatre world? I find that this sense of truth and faith is found in both relaxation and emotional memory. Is there a place in our training for emotional memory?
I feel that the different forms of training have helped us learn to listen to each other.
These are just some thoughts that I have had recently. I am new to this whole Blogging thing so please allow me some time to get up to speed.
---Frank Mihelich
All the different forms of training that we do demand action. The emphasis is placed on the doing and if there is any thinking to be done, it is best done either on our feet or in reflection after much doing. Our bodies are our greatest tool for "text work."
All the different forms of training encourage us to use our imagination. From images of the voice/pilates work or the images of the Niky/viewpoints training. Yet, I think that imagination is a area where our training can grow. How can we more actively engage our imaginations in the training?
I find that all the forms of training encourage me to concentrate. I actually think our current training is ideal for the development of concentration and attention. I think that concentration and attention on stage is a Magis strength.
Relaxation is something I find we could do more of in training. Maybe it is just me, but I find that because the training is so physical and active, I always feel that I need to be "DOING" something. How can we find more relaxation in our training without losing the rigor that we have? How can we learn to "Do," and "Be" at the same time.
Another area where any actor always needs to grow is in a sense of truth and naturalism. As in the above paragraph, everything that we do is so active and the text is so rich, but the question must be "how do I feel like a real person with a sense of truth and faith in what I am doing?" How can we be active and engage rich text, and yet seem of this world and not of some alien theatre world? I find that this sense of truth and faith is found in both relaxation and emotional memory. Is there a place in our training for emotional memory?
I feel that the different forms of training have helped us learn to listen to each other.
These are just some thoughts that I have had recently. I am new to this whole Blogging thing so please allow me some time to get up to speed.
---Frank Mihelich
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Some foundations for Magis work
The origin
Magis Theatre Company's work with the three basic energies started with a bringing together of the very physical work done at Columbia University's MFA Theatre program with the work of Robert Taylor, a Shakespearan Actor trained in Britan and a lecturer at PTTP program at University of Delaware, Carnegie Mellon and Moscow Art Theatre.
Columbia Trained actors worked with Niky Wolcz to establish a plasticity of the body and an openness of the instruments. Much of Wolcz' work comes from Grotowski and Meyerhold but with his own take on it.
At Columbia, many different ways of working gave the actors a chance to explore the resonance and dissonance of some of these training methods. In a sense, the students bodies were the crucible where different acting approaches melted and became its own "alloy" of these elements. Le Coq mask work, Wolcz work on physicality came face to face with Ann Bogart's Viewpoints and Tadashi Suzuki's regiment of training.
What all of these had to work on together was a raw energy, a term which was so important to Stanislavki.
Allowing energy to flow freely and putting it in the action combined very well with Robert Taylor's instruction on the three basic energies which he terms
Dramatic, Lyric and Epic... corrsponding to the the three basic forms of Poetry.
The Next Level
After working with Robert Taylor and Stephen Simmons for several months on Dramatic, Lyric and Epic...(Magis was still just a dream at this point), Margi Sharp and I worked with puppeteer/director Ralph Lee in his Mettawee River Company. http://www.mettawee.org/
During one of the daily warm ups before the performance we were doing an exercise that Ralph had done with the Open Theatre. A simple exercise I had done many times before, though never with the consciousness I had developed at Columbia, and the context of the work with Robert Talyor. The exercise was a reaching up in the body, allowing oneself to fall over at the waist and swing back, and then allowing the energy of that action to propel the body forward to a standing position again.
What immediately struck me was a feeling of suspension at the standing point, just before gravity pulled the body down again. My body remembered the sensation of "Lyric Energy" from the work with Robert Taylor. It was unmistakeable for me that this Lyric Energy WAS suspension.
As I continued in the exercise, I then made an investigation to the other energies...
Gravity, the force pulling the body out of that suspension felt like "Epic Energy," and the swing back up which I will call momentum was the sensation of "Dramatic Energy."
It was exciting to have this connection. The energies suddenly seemed even more organic, more basic... this began to inform much of the physical work I did with my teaching. Connection to Stansilavski's later work on physical actions began to emerge as well (we will take this up in a later entry)
Now several years later, this vocabulary of energies is the foundation of Magis Training.
Tapping the Energies
Each of the 3 basic energies has its own locus.. where it lives in the body... where it comes from and where it passes through on its way out to the audience.
The energies are accessed, opened, and focused through a shape/action that is particular to each energy. Training in these shapes and practicing them regularly opens the channels of energy very much in the same way a pianist practicing scales allows for a proficiency in executing step-wise progressions in a piece of music.
The aim of this practice is not to "do" the energy (worse yet to "act" the energy) but to open the channels so that when I am doing the physical actions of my score, these energies will support and fuel the action.
This is the difference between an action that has presence and one that does not. Allowing the free-flow of energy in the action draws the attention of the audience to what is being done.. what is being embodied in the moment.
----George Drance
Magis Theatre Company's work with the three basic energies started with a bringing together of the very physical work done at Columbia University's MFA Theatre program with the work of Robert Taylor, a Shakespearan Actor trained in Britan and a lecturer at PTTP program at University of Delaware, Carnegie Mellon and Moscow Art Theatre.
Columbia Trained actors worked with Niky Wolcz to establish a plasticity of the body and an openness of the instruments. Much of Wolcz' work comes from Grotowski and Meyerhold but with his own take on it.
At Columbia, many different ways of working gave the actors a chance to explore the resonance and dissonance of some of these training methods. In a sense, the students bodies were the crucible where different acting approaches melted and became its own "alloy" of these elements. Le Coq mask work, Wolcz work on physicality came face to face with Ann Bogart's Viewpoints and Tadashi Suzuki's regiment of training.
What all of these had to work on together was a raw energy, a term which was so important to Stanislavki.
Allowing energy to flow freely and putting it in the action combined very well with Robert Taylor's instruction on the three basic energies which he terms
Dramatic, Lyric and Epic... corrsponding to the the three basic forms of Poetry.
The Next Level
After working with Robert Taylor and Stephen Simmons for several months on Dramatic, Lyric and Epic...(Magis was still just a dream at this point), Margi Sharp and I worked with puppeteer/director Ralph Lee in his Mettawee River Company. http://www.mettawee.org/
During one of the daily warm ups before the performance we were doing an exercise that Ralph had done with the Open Theatre. A simple exercise I had done many times before, though never with the consciousness I had developed at Columbia, and the context of the work with Robert Talyor. The exercise was a reaching up in the body, allowing oneself to fall over at the waist and swing back, and then allowing the energy of that action to propel the body forward to a standing position again.
What immediately struck me was a feeling of suspension at the standing point, just before gravity pulled the body down again. My body remembered the sensation of "Lyric Energy" from the work with Robert Taylor. It was unmistakeable for me that this Lyric Energy WAS suspension.
As I continued in the exercise, I then made an investigation to the other energies...
Gravity, the force pulling the body out of that suspension felt like "Epic Energy," and the swing back up which I will call momentum was the sensation of "Dramatic Energy."
It was exciting to have this connection. The energies suddenly seemed even more organic, more basic... this began to inform much of the physical work I did with my teaching. Connection to Stansilavski's later work on physical actions began to emerge as well (we will take this up in a later entry)
Now several years later, this vocabulary of energies is the foundation of Magis Training.
Tapping the Energies
Each of the 3 basic energies has its own locus.. where it lives in the body... where it comes from and where it passes through on its way out to the audience.
The energies are accessed, opened, and focused through a shape/action that is particular to each energy. Training in these shapes and practicing them regularly opens the channels of energy very much in the same way a pianist practicing scales allows for a proficiency in executing step-wise progressions in a piece of music.
The aim of this practice is not to "do" the energy (worse yet to "act" the energy) but to open the channels so that when I am doing the physical actions of my score, these energies will support and fuel the action.
This is the difference between an action that has presence and one that does not. Allowing the free-flow of energy in the action draws the attention of the audience to what is being done.. what is being embodied in the moment.
----George Drance
Assorted posts from our old blog site
Voice and Pilates
Through my work as an actor and trainer with Magis, I have integrated core awareness, breath and voice work in a way that I had previously felt impossible.
In my years at Columbia’s MFA program our voice work and our physical training were kept very separate. We had one way of warming up the voice that was simultaneously relaxing and stimulating, and then another way of getting to the body that was muscular and intensive. The two systems seemed to fight against each other.
After graduation I certified as a Pilates instructor. Although my certification was through a very classical program, I soon branched out to study modified Pilates and Alexander work. I began taking classes at Kelly Kane’s School of Core Integration and studying weekly with an Alexander teacher named Nancy Wechter who has a private practice in Manhattan. I discovered a kind of core work that was not classical Pilates (often quite muscular and choreographic) but much more akin to yoga or physical therapy. The diaphragm was encouraged to move freely, the mind-body focus was on the alignment and energetic connections between bones, freely moving joints and a kind of yielding and widening of the external muscles to the deeper smaller groups closer to the spine – the muscles connected with breath. After a few years of exploration, I found myself no longer moving from a place of rigidity, holding or strain. I began to develop a new pattern for my body: deepening the abdominals in a way that allowed freedom for the breath and yet stability and protection for the spine at the same moment.
In Magis training I began to teach this new kind of Pilates to the actors. I wanted them to open up their bodies AND voices as they strengthened their core muscles. I began to cue bones and joints and encourage a softening rather than a gripping to find very simple movements. Then I began adding in vocal exercises and sound to the sessions. We progressed the movements from basic core principles into a few classic Pilates moves. The goal is to keep the breath free and the voice open in the face strong core challenges. I call it "Voice and Pilates." I am combining three techniques in our warm up: Linklater voice work, core principles of Pilates greatly influenced by Kelly Kane's School of Core Integration, and basic directional principles from the Alexander technique.
I find that the physical and vocal work in this combination enhance one another. If the breath is free, the body moves better. When the body is moving in an efficient and directional way, the voice deepens and resonates naturally. By the end of a 40 or 45-minute session I feel open, centered and resonant. I am ready to jump into vigorous physical or vocal work – whatever the day’s rehearsal/training.
--- Margi Sharp
Uniting Action to Impulse in Character
Push...Pull...Reach ...Throw...When attached to apart of the body, the four actions open up a new way of approaching Character for me. First, we work solely with the body. Pushing, pulling, and throwing with the knee, forehead, pelvis, nose, etc. Second, the voice is added, presently using text from The Great Divorce by CS Lewis. Without judging or attaching meaning, I said the text with the intention coming from the energy of my knee. I found that I allowed my character to go higher in my voice range, adding layers of humor that I had not originally conceived. Thirdly, we said the lines of text in complete stillness. I was delightfully surprised that the lines came out with ease yet held a clearer intention than before. Nothing was said "in general" George pointed out afterwards. Finally, we combined the text with a subtle version of the movement we used, creating characters that would definitely appear in life, with movement and gestures not easily found with a psychological approach.
Finding Balance
I spoke in class last month about why I'm interested in bringing Tai Chi and Qi Gong into the Magis training sessions. Qi Gong is the starting place for Tai Chi-- the preparatory exercises one does before beginning the movements that make up the form itself. Some of them are basic warm-up exercises: circling the hips, the knees, the head, to promote flexibility and freedom of movement. Others seem more esoteric and speak of using breath and movement to even out or balance Qi or Chi, the body's essential energy.
I think many warm up exercises for actors, from all different methods and traditions, are concerned with this idea of finding balance. We want to prepare the body so that we are free to be an open channel for whatever impulses may arrive in the course of the work. Often the most interesting work on stage requires us to throw ourselves off balance; as in modern dance when the dancer engages in an extreme tilt of her body that requires her to let herself "fall" and then "catch" herself again.
As actors, we are often required to be brave enough to be willing to throw ourselves off balance. We give up better-paying jobs in order to take an acting job that interests us. Performance commitments may mean we spend less time with family and friends. A director may ask us to speak while engaging in extreme physical movements. Even if we aren't "Method" actors, sometimes the subject matter of a play may touch on ideas or emotions that rattle us internally.
Finding a place of balance in our lives can make us feel safe enough to throw ourselves off balance on stage. Qi Gong has been the latest manifestation of that search for balance for me. When I can take the time to find a still center, to feel strong and balanced, I then feel ready to go wherever a class, rehearsal or performance may take me. Feeling off balance can be scary for someone who doesn't take being in control for granted. But when I can remember what it feels like to find balance, I am more willing to risk that thrilling feeling of falling, knowing that I will be able to catch myself again.
--Erika Iverson
Through my work as an actor and trainer with Magis, I have integrated core awareness, breath and voice work in a way that I had previously felt impossible.
In my years at Columbia’s MFA program our voice work and our physical training were kept very separate. We had one way of warming up the voice that was simultaneously relaxing and stimulating, and then another way of getting to the body that was muscular and intensive. The two systems seemed to fight against each other.
After graduation I certified as a Pilates instructor. Although my certification was through a very classical program, I soon branched out to study modified Pilates and Alexander work. I began taking classes at Kelly Kane’s School of Core Integration and studying weekly with an Alexander teacher named Nancy Wechter who has a private practice in Manhattan. I discovered a kind of core work that was not classical Pilates (often quite muscular and choreographic) but much more akin to yoga or physical therapy. The diaphragm was encouraged to move freely, the mind-body focus was on the alignment and energetic connections between bones, freely moving joints and a kind of yielding and widening of the external muscles to the deeper smaller groups closer to the spine – the muscles connected with breath. After a few years of exploration, I found myself no longer moving from a place of rigidity, holding or strain. I began to develop a new pattern for my body: deepening the abdominals in a way that allowed freedom for the breath and yet stability and protection for the spine at the same moment.
In Magis training I began to teach this new kind of Pilates to the actors. I wanted them to open up their bodies AND voices as they strengthened their core muscles. I began to cue bones and joints and encourage a softening rather than a gripping to find very simple movements. Then I began adding in vocal exercises and sound to the sessions. We progressed the movements from basic core principles into a few classic Pilates moves. The goal is to keep the breath free and the voice open in the face strong core challenges. I call it "Voice and Pilates." I am combining three techniques in our warm up: Linklater voice work, core principles of Pilates greatly influenced by Kelly Kane's School of Core Integration, and basic directional principles from the Alexander technique.
I find that the physical and vocal work in this combination enhance one another. If the breath is free, the body moves better. When the body is moving in an efficient and directional way, the voice deepens and resonates naturally. By the end of a 40 or 45-minute session I feel open, centered and resonant. I am ready to jump into vigorous physical or vocal work – whatever the day’s rehearsal/training.
--- Margi Sharp
Uniting Action to Impulse in Character
Push...Pull...Reach ...Throw...When attached to apart of the body, the four actions open up a new way of approaching Character for me. First, we work solely with the body. Pushing, pulling, and throwing with the knee, forehead, pelvis, nose, etc. Second, the voice is added, presently using text from The Great Divorce by CS Lewis. Without judging or attaching meaning, I said the text with the intention coming from the energy of my knee. I found that I allowed my character to go higher in my voice range, adding layers of humor that I had not originally conceived. Thirdly, we said the lines of text in complete stillness. I was delightfully surprised that the lines came out with ease yet held a clearer intention than before. Nothing was said "in general" George pointed out afterwards. Finally, we combined the text with a subtle version of the movement we used, creating characters that would definitely appear in life, with movement and gestures not easily found with a psychological approach.
Finding Balance
I spoke in class last month about why I'm interested in bringing Tai Chi and Qi Gong into the Magis training sessions. Qi Gong is the starting place for Tai Chi-- the preparatory exercises one does before beginning the movements that make up the form itself. Some of them are basic warm-up exercises: circling the hips, the knees, the head, to promote flexibility and freedom of movement. Others seem more esoteric and speak of using breath and movement to even out or balance Qi or Chi, the body's essential energy.
I think many warm up exercises for actors, from all different methods and traditions, are concerned with this idea of finding balance. We want to prepare the body so that we are free to be an open channel for whatever impulses may arrive in the course of the work. Often the most interesting work on stage requires us to throw ourselves off balance; as in modern dance when the dancer engages in an extreme tilt of her body that requires her to let herself "fall" and then "catch" herself again.
As actors, we are often required to be brave enough to be willing to throw ourselves off balance. We give up better-paying jobs in order to take an acting job that interests us. Performance commitments may mean we spend less time with family and friends. A director may ask us to speak while engaging in extreme physical movements. Even if we aren't "Method" actors, sometimes the subject matter of a play may touch on ideas or emotions that rattle us internally.
Finding a place of balance in our lives can make us feel safe enough to throw ourselves off balance on stage. Qi Gong has been the latest manifestation of that search for balance for me. When I can take the time to find a still center, to feel strong and balanced, I then feel ready to go wherever a class, rehearsal or performance may take me. Feeling off balance can be scary for someone who doesn't take being in control for granted. But when I can remember what it feels like to find balance, I am more willing to risk that thrilling feeling of falling, knowing that I will be able to catch myself again.
--Erika Iverson
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