Having read the title of tonights blog and bearing in mind the quote was from monsieur Gaulier about a piece that Dan, Yann est moi came up with,(particular thanks have to go to Yann whose last minute direction prevented the slaughter of Dan and I).
I guess you can understand how buzzing.
If you know Philippe then just read it again and you should have some idea of how I am feeling.
So good that I'm having a few drinks and will tell all tomorrow.
Wow! What a day.
A Matin.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Boom!
Just a quick one tonight folks, it's getting late and I still have a lot of sewing to do.
Thanks to the wonderful Carman I think that the home made Obelix costume now looks likely to be finished within a week.
Phew!
Okay so todays learning.
The pleasure to speak, to play with the echo in a cave, I've read about this exercise but never quite understood it and as with most things about Monsieur G, you have to be with him to experience the magic.
A chorus of 7 play the echobehind an actor who tries to have fun with the voice to give an impulse so that the echo can play.
Flat sounds, words without inflection and short vowels left nothing hanging in the air to be played with. Not surprising when the echo gives up or shuts up.
Aaron surprised today with his Braveheart burst of "FreeeeeeeedoooooooooOOOOOOOM!" The nymphs of echo for the first time in the session suddenly had something to play with and they did. Enjoying the impulse of the game between them and he.
Lovely to see.
I got up sang, played and had a lot of pleasure to play in this one, I seem to be of the mindset at the moment in le jeu that at some point I am going to fail so best try and have as good a time as I can whilst I'm up there.
Clown.
A big flop today, the game was simple.
7 people in the space with a ball. Monsieur Gaulier plays music and the clowns dance. 2 of them have a moment of complicity between each other the ball is thrown from one to the other. The person who receives the ball looks at the audience and has to do something to save the show.
As normal some good stuff and some bad, non not bad just boring.
Me, today I fall into the second category.
I got the ball, I felt the pleasure rise and I started to take in the audience and then either fear or lack of ideas started me spiralling down and down.
Nothing came, its funny because I can feel the audience waiting for something to happen butr they won't for ever and Monsieur G certainly won't.
Boom!
The inevitable banging of the drum.
I turned and waited for his comments.
Nothing.
Not a saucisson.
Its a bit like having a parent tell you they are disappointed.
Left me with stuff to think about though.
What is it that stops me from entering the moment, from embracing the unknown, leaves me stuck in the space without my imagination or creativity?
I don't know.
An artistic crisis maybe.
Non, it is not a crisis, there are too many of them in the world today, this is a blip, it will pass, and when it does I will shine.
Watch me.
Just remember to bring your sunglasses.
Thanks to the wonderful Carman I think that the home made Obelix costume now looks likely to be finished within a week.
Phew!
Okay so todays learning.
The pleasure to speak, to play with the echo in a cave, I've read about this exercise but never quite understood it and as with most things about Monsieur G, you have to be with him to experience the magic.
A chorus of 7 play the echobehind an actor who tries to have fun with the voice to give an impulse so that the echo can play.
Flat sounds, words without inflection and short vowels left nothing hanging in the air to be played with. Not surprising when the echo gives up or shuts up.
Aaron surprised today with his Braveheart burst of "FreeeeeeeedoooooooooOOOOOOOM!" The nymphs of echo for the first time in the session suddenly had something to play with and they did. Enjoying the impulse of the game between them and he.
Lovely to see.
I got up sang, played and had a lot of pleasure to play in this one, I seem to be of the mindset at the moment in le jeu that at some point I am going to fail so best try and have as good a time as I can whilst I'm up there.
Clown.
A big flop today, the game was simple.
7 people in the space with a ball. Monsieur Gaulier plays music and the clowns dance. 2 of them have a moment of complicity between each other the ball is thrown from one to the other. The person who receives the ball looks at the audience and has to do something to save the show.
As normal some good stuff and some bad, non not bad just boring.
Me, today I fall into the second category.
I got the ball, I felt the pleasure rise and I started to take in the audience and then either fear or lack of ideas started me spiralling down and down.
Nothing came, its funny because I can feel the audience waiting for something to happen butr they won't for ever and Monsieur G certainly won't.
Boom!
The inevitable banging of the drum.
I turned and waited for his comments.
Nothing.
Not a saucisson.
Its a bit like having a parent tell you they are disappointed.
Left me with stuff to think about though.
What is it that stops me from entering the moment, from embracing the unknown, leaves me stuck in the space without my imagination or creativity?
I don't know.
An artistic crisis maybe.
Non, it is not a crisis, there are too many of them in the world today, this is a blip, it will pass, and when it does I will shine.
Watch me.
Just remember to bring your sunglasses.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The love drug
Wednesday evening 9:15.
Phew I made it.
Twas a bit of a struggle at points.
Why Mark, why?
Good question!
With a one word answer.
Vin.
After class several of us went to the Halequin bar to have a drink and relax, now don't ask me how but several hours Dan and myself found ourselves in an impromptu lock in. Our french host drinking pastisse and Dan and myself on the vin rouge.
I still managed to get about 9 hours sleep but drunken slumber never quite recharges the batteries.
I'm 33 surely you would think I would have learned that lesson by now?
Obviously not.
And so today was a tad touch and go but I made it.
Movement was really interesting for me today. A little insight into how games can be used to stretch the actors range and develop his physicality.
No stretches or silk work today, non, today we played.
Beginning with Cat and mouse/hug tag to get the heart rate up, there was such a charged energy in the room especially when Claude introduced 2 and then 3 cats. It was hilarious.
Next-dodge ball we were encouraged to use our whole body in the throw and to really try and dodge the ball, when it matters the body does many strange and wonderful contortions, then the beginning of the session that really got me thinking about game as an addition to movement training. Claude had us walking round the space, he would tap someone, that person would do an action with a sound and we would all have to copy after a while this changed to animals, suddenly we are up pretending to be ostriches, down for sheep dog and cats, even lower still for snakes, leaping on someone else's back to play a giraffe, rhythm changes to pass from sloth to orangutan and more.The body warming up and developing without the serious nature often associated with "movement". This continued on when Claude put a line of blue mats at one end of the room and a second line at the other end. We were to imagine that the room between the mats was ice, so as soon as we walked onto it we slipped over, curious how much of a banging and crashing the frame can take when the body is soft. Immersed in the game we don't think about the possibility of injury or have any fear of throwing ourselves about the space. Once we had all crossed the space, we had to go back again, this time across hot coals. The third time we had to swim across a river filled with piranha. And then try to swing across the same river on the silks, me and 99% of class were pranha feed, only Justin made it across.
Finally we had to sit on a chair that was very slippy and again practice falling to the floor.
Keep the body soft seems to be the secret.
I think that tomorrow we learn how to fall backwards in a chair safely. I'm looking forward to that.
Le Jeu.
Pretending to be in an advert for a fine whisky for the men, Chanel no 5 for the ladies. Among us were actors suitable to advertise bleach, danone yoghurt, perfume in a kibbutz and adverts against drinking.
Sinicca asked what if you are not comfortable playing beautiful, if you prefer playing ugly, Philippe said something like she had fun and she has pleasure on stage that it is not that he thinks she is not beautiful that he kicked her away but that in the exercise her movement was horrible.
He is trying to get us to move beautifully on stage, graceful under the lights ready to show the audience our piece of our soul.
Clown
Costume update for those of you who are interested.
Christine gave me a pair of blue and white maternity pyjamas which I am wearing in class. The genius idea of stitching my own has been postponed for a few days, I'm going to speak to Carmen about it tomorrow to see if it is still possible ( apparently she is a costume designer so she will tell me if it is a total catastroff)even if she says no est posible then I'll still give it a go.
I really want them to work.
todays exercise
2 clowns enter to introduce an inaugration (?)
They have been to see Monsieur Marcel who frquents the cafe de la post. Apparently every cafe has a genius, some cafes there is a rugby genius, in others a legal genius, and monsieur marcel is a clown genius.
Ahhh my little one, if you want to do an inaugration it is not easy. not easy at all. An inaugration has poems and song.
Ah thankyou Monsieur Marcel. and with this knowledge the clown goes to make his inaugration.
I tap Mia infront of me to see if she wants to work together, she is dressed as the wife of the chief of the village in Asterix and me as Obelix could be a good couple.
We get up and walk behind the curtain, a quick glance at one another and then Boom boom boom on the drum and on we go, circling round and round as the music plays, it stops. Mia has a rolling pin as a prop and we both start doing something bad with the rolling pin. It gets a couple of laughs but I think these are just from friends who sympathise with us being in the shit. We end up holding hands just as monsieur G bangs his drum and tells us that what we did was bad. We ask for a second attempt, he was feeling generous today and with the feeling of being bad he let us go a second time, we did okay.
Philippe used us to teach about major minor, I made a bit of a boob, I said something like "ladies and gentlemen now Mia will do a back flip. Mia looked confused. great! and here was my mistake, in fact she will do a double backfli..... "Non, you have just given her major, we are with her now."
I clenched my fist and watched Mia. I need to realise when I have handed the game over. This will come I'm sure I need to be more complicit with my partner.
Mia carried on, "Yes I am going to do a backflip but first I need to warm up, Mark will now warm me up."
Brilliant thankyou Mia I'm in major again, what will I do here?
My mind goes to the rolling pin and I think about using it to warm her up, before I know what is happening I am breathing on her as if she is ice cold hands and patting her arms... laugh. Brilliant, I carry on. more laughs, okay we could have a game here.
Philippe stops us.
Damn.
He asks Mia why she isn't playing pissed off?
She says that she tried it yesterday and it didn't work.
He winds her up in french. She gets pissed off and bites back, suddenly there erupts a lot of laughter from the audience and big laughs from Monsieur.
After a few minutes of exchange between them he tells her that she has to kill the charming swiss that she wants to play, that it is no good for her clown. That they don't love her like that
I liked playing with Mia, I think we could come up with something good, her clown is pissed off whilst mine is an energetic optimistic idiot.
The contrast here could be good.
But what I did learn or at least what I have found before that can be fruitful is to put your partner in the shit, And now Mia will do a backflip. I have given my friend an offer, a gift, something for them to play with.
And here was another lesson for today, the relationship between the clowns is more important than the number.
I think I see that, for in the relationship is the humanity, the number could be anything, sure there are good ideas for numbers but "2 idiots on the stage with complicite, and ahh we think something is coming."
Fantastic!
My idiot, (apparently I have an idiot face)I can't quite tap him here yet, but I have been succcesful for a few minutes in previous workshops so I know it is possible, and boy what a feeling that was, to love and be loved by the audience, it's in my veins and I want it more.
The love drug.
Help me to find it again Monsieur G.
Monsieur Gaulier's quote of the day.
"When you enter as clown you have to think how am I going to work with this audience? How am I going to make them laugh?"
Phew I made it.
Twas a bit of a struggle at points.
Why Mark, why?
Good question!
With a one word answer.
Vin.
After class several of us went to the Halequin bar to have a drink and relax, now don't ask me how but several hours Dan and myself found ourselves in an impromptu lock in. Our french host drinking pastisse and Dan and myself on the vin rouge.
I still managed to get about 9 hours sleep but drunken slumber never quite recharges the batteries.
I'm 33 surely you would think I would have learned that lesson by now?
Obviously not.
And so today was a tad touch and go but I made it.
Movement was really interesting for me today. A little insight into how games can be used to stretch the actors range and develop his physicality.
No stretches or silk work today, non, today we played.
Beginning with Cat and mouse/hug tag to get the heart rate up, there was such a charged energy in the room especially when Claude introduced 2 and then 3 cats. It was hilarious.
Next-dodge ball we were encouraged to use our whole body in the throw and to really try and dodge the ball, when it matters the body does many strange and wonderful contortions, then the beginning of the session that really got me thinking about game as an addition to movement training. Claude had us walking round the space, he would tap someone, that person would do an action with a sound and we would all have to copy after a while this changed to animals, suddenly we are up pretending to be ostriches, down for sheep dog and cats, even lower still for snakes, leaping on someone else's back to play a giraffe, rhythm changes to pass from sloth to orangutan and more.The body warming up and developing without the serious nature often associated with "movement". This continued on when Claude put a line of blue mats at one end of the room and a second line at the other end. We were to imagine that the room between the mats was ice, so as soon as we walked onto it we slipped over, curious how much of a banging and crashing the frame can take when the body is soft. Immersed in the game we don't think about the possibility of injury or have any fear of throwing ourselves about the space. Once we had all crossed the space, we had to go back again, this time across hot coals. The third time we had to swim across a river filled with piranha. And then try to swing across the same river on the silks, me and 99% of class were pranha feed, only Justin made it across.
Finally we had to sit on a chair that was very slippy and again practice falling to the floor.
Keep the body soft seems to be the secret.
I think that tomorrow we learn how to fall backwards in a chair safely. I'm looking forward to that.
Le Jeu.
Pretending to be in an advert for a fine whisky for the men, Chanel no 5 for the ladies. Among us were actors suitable to advertise bleach, danone yoghurt, perfume in a kibbutz and adverts against drinking.
Sinicca asked what if you are not comfortable playing beautiful, if you prefer playing ugly, Philippe said something like she had fun and she has pleasure on stage that it is not that he thinks she is not beautiful that he kicked her away but that in the exercise her movement was horrible.
He is trying to get us to move beautifully on stage, graceful under the lights ready to show the audience our piece of our soul.
Clown
Costume update for those of you who are interested.
Christine gave me a pair of blue and white maternity pyjamas which I am wearing in class. The genius idea of stitching my own has been postponed for a few days, I'm going to speak to Carmen about it tomorrow to see if it is still possible ( apparently she is a costume designer so she will tell me if it is a total catastroff)even if she says no est posible then I'll still give it a go.
I really want them to work.
todays exercise
2 clowns enter to introduce an inaugration (?)
They have been to see Monsieur Marcel who frquents the cafe de la post. Apparently every cafe has a genius, some cafes there is a rugby genius, in others a legal genius, and monsieur marcel is a clown genius.
Ahhh my little one, if you want to do an inaugration it is not easy. not easy at all. An inaugration has poems and song.
Ah thankyou Monsieur Marcel. and with this knowledge the clown goes to make his inaugration.
I tap Mia infront of me to see if she wants to work together, she is dressed as the wife of the chief of the village in Asterix and me as Obelix could be a good couple.
We get up and walk behind the curtain, a quick glance at one another and then Boom boom boom on the drum and on we go, circling round and round as the music plays, it stops. Mia has a rolling pin as a prop and we both start doing something bad with the rolling pin. It gets a couple of laughs but I think these are just from friends who sympathise with us being in the shit. We end up holding hands just as monsieur G bangs his drum and tells us that what we did was bad. We ask for a second attempt, he was feeling generous today and with the feeling of being bad he let us go a second time, we did okay.
Philippe used us to teach about major minor, I made a bit of a boob, I said something like "ladies and gentlemen now Mia will do a back flip. Mia looked confused. great! and here was my mistake, in fact she will do a double backfli..... "Non, you have just given her major, we are with her now."
I clenched my fist and watched Mia. I need to realise when I have handed the game over. This will come I'm sure I need to be more complicit with my partner.
Mia carried on, "Yes I am going to do a backflip but first I need to warm up, Mark will now warm me up."
Brilliant thankyou Mia I'm in major again, what will I do here?
My mind goes to the rolling pin and I think about using it to warm her up, before I know what is happening I am breathing on her as if she is ice cold hands and patting her arms... laugh. Brilliant, I carry on. more laughs, okay we could have a game here.
Philippe stops us.
Damn.
He asks Mia why she isn't playing pissed off?
She says that she tried it yesterday and it didn't work.
He winds her up in french. She gets pissed off and bites back, suddenly there erupts a lot of laughter from the audience and big laughs from Monsieur.
After a few minutes of exchange between them he tells her that she has to kill the charming swiss that she wants to play, that it is no good for her clown. That they don't love her like that
I liked playing with Mia, I think we could come up with something good, her clown is pissed off whilst mine is an energetic optimistic idiot.
The contrast here could be good.
But what I did learn or at least what I have found before that can be fruitful is to put your partner in the shit, And now Mia will do a backflip. I have given my friend an offer, a gift, something for them to play with.
And here was another lesson for today, the relationship between the clowns is more important than the number.
I think I see that, for in the relationship is the humanity, the number could be anything, sure there are good ideas for numbers but "2 idiots on the stage with complicite, and ahh we think something is coming."
Fantastic!
My idiot, (apparently I have an idiot face)I can't quite tap him here yet, but I have been succcesful for a few minutes in previous workshops so I know it is possible, and boy what a feeling that was, to love and be loved by the audience, it's in my veins and I want it more.
The love drug.
Help me to find it again Monsieur G.
Monsieur Gaulier's quote of the day.
"When you enter as clown you have to think how am I going to work with this audience? How am I going to make them laugh?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The key?
Yesterdays bread lapped up with todays evening meal of melting pork in gravy with lentils and mmmmmm!
Formidable.
Zut alors! this tastes good!
Thlurp tmm tmm tchm, is the only sound in the room as I suck the marrow from out the bones.
A slug of white wine and I reflect once again on how lucky I am.
I have fantastic family, those at home whose support brought me here, and those here in my adopted country who supply me with food, french and new trousers.
I am working with a theatre legend; El Monsieur Professor whose school I have wanted to attend for the last 4 years. (Ben Cutler I don't know if I ever told you but I owe you for turning me onto monsieur G at your lab all those years ago.)
And...
I'm loved!
Est voila.
Surely that is enough.
Or is it?
Maybe for some.
But apparently not for me.
Selfish as it sounds I need more.
I need the love of the audience and so far I have not got it.
Clown class; It's good in a way that my classmates see me as a partial stranger.
To get too comfortable with one another only leads to nepotistic laughter and in jokes.
But the unknown public await, an unproven audience, together there only for one night, in one place, paying their money earned by sweat and graft, who wish to be lifted somewhere new, carried to an imaginary world where beauty rules supreme.
Ahh!
Please my little boatman cradle me onward.
Onward
Onward
Onwaaaaaaards
Bid me view places unseen, to drift on the tide of fantasy, and peek through the cracks of your mind to view the spectres of dreams.
Amen.
Non?
I need their love.
And so do all here who crave longevity in this business.
To be loved is to last.
And so, without this love yet I strive again for more.
More laughs.
More laughs.
More laughs.
The key to longevity?
Help me monsieur.
I want to succeed.
Formidable.
Zut alors! this tastes good!
Thlurp tmm tmm tchm, is the only sound in the room as I suck the marrow from out the bones.
A slug of white wine and I reflect once again on how lucky I am.
I have fantastic family, those at home whose support brought me here, and those here in my adopted country who supply me with food, french and new trousers.
I am working with a theatre legend; El Monsieur Professor whose school I have wanted to attend for the last 4 years. (Ben Cutler I don't know if I ever told you but I owe you for turning me onto monsieur G at your lab all those years ago.)
And...
I'm loved!
Est voila.
Surely that is enough.
Or is it?
Maybe for some.
But apparently not for me.
Selfish as it sounds I need more.
I need the love of the audience and so far I have not got it.
Clown class; It's good in a way that my classmates see me as a partial stranger.
To get too comfortable with one another only leads to nepotistic laughter and in jokes.
But the unknown public await, an unproven audience, together there only for one night, in one place, paying their money earned by sweat and graft, who wish to be lifted somewhere new, carried to an imaginary world where beauty rules supreme.
Ahh!
Please my little boatman cradle me onward.
Onward
Onward
Onwaaaaaaards
Bid me view places unseen, to drift on the tide of fantasy, and peek through the cracks of your mind to view the spectres of dreams.
Amen.
Non?
I need their love.
And so do all here who crave longevity in this business.
To be loved is to last.
And so, without this love yet I strive again for more.
More laughs.
More laughs.
More laughs.
The key to longevity?
Help me monsieur.
I want to succeed.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Mummy? Daddy? look at me.
I wake at 9 but hit snooze and eventually rise at 10.
My knee which has been playing up since Friday is easing a bit but I decide that I won't take part in movement class today in case I agrevate it again.
The morning is spent creating the helmet and moustache for my costume.
There is no way I can be ready with that in time so after chatting with Al about it and her reminding me of a sort of similar problem I had in a previous workshop I decide the best thing to do is to take the hat, moustache belt and a plastic bag full of bits of cloth to class, I have no idea if it will be funny, in my head it kind of is.
Movement, I was late, I had to get the hat right, its bnasically the one piece of costume I have so it had better be good.
I creep in and watch my classmates on the silks, some of them are really good. I'm a bit gutted that my knee isn't working properly, I would limke to see if I've improved at all.
But then I don't think I'll be getting on the silks for at least another week, it would be stupid to do myself a real injury.
Le Jeu
Samuel says
Exercises in dancing
Wink murder to help us to understand what minor does. (He looks for the game)
Then an exercise I had read about but never done. Sock tails in a scene plus major/ minor.
It goes like this: Set up a room set, chairs a table, a sofa, a phone.
2 people each with socks down the back of their trousers, 1 is on stage, the other is off.
The person in major (the one on stage) starts the show " pretending to be actor"
The director has said to him, "your pleasure is fantastic, I want you to start the show" so he does, he shows his pleasure to be in the space to have fun, not be boring to take the stage. (major also has a ball)
When Monsieur professor plays the sound of a doorbell the player in major goes to answer the door. He throws the ball to the other player(minor) who now becomes major (minor, now major has come to borrow a cup of sugar) they speak with a voice to tease their friend. When they start to pedal in the sauerkraut (I believe we roast beef's say swim in the shit) they look at their friend cha-chack! moment of complicity. Throw them the ball. Their friend takes over.
At the same time they also play the sock tail game. If you get your friends sock, you give it back, not a fight for the sock like a previous game from Friday.
Phew
I hope this makes sense
Monsieur Gaulier said "Mark, you could be better in major, at the beginning you were better at the start of the exercise, not excellent but not totally horrible."
When another student playing in major entered with a gun Monsieur professor got her to play the scene and at the same time drop the scene and turn to her daddy in the audience and say something like...
" Daddy,look at me. I'm a terrorist. I'm going to walk 3 steps like a terrorist (she walked 3 steps). Daddy look at me. I'm not really a terrorist. It's just for the fun. ( she would keep pointing the gun at her partnerwhilst turning her head to talk to Daddy)
Daddy I'm going to shooty him now. Pchow Pchow! Her partner dies. Daddy its theatre. We can kill everybody. It's a joke, for the fun."
That's not word perfect, I'm not a stenographer nor can I rite short hand but it was something like this.
And in this little bit lies 1 part of the genius of le jeu.
The child soul of the actor, seeking love on the stage, carving out beauty within the lie of the theatre.
Daddy. Mummy. Look at me I'm on stage and I'm in major. Through the lens of childrens games we access the kingdom of fantasy and imagination. It is a beautiful world and you have to be beautiful to play there.
The actor has to beautiful even when he plays ugly.
During class Philippe got a student, Amy to touch the table without looking at it, to repeat the name frederic, frederic. at the end of clas Dan asked why this was.
Monsieur professor said that it was for effect, to help the audience to dream around the character. We wonder why she does this and these things stay with the audience, he gave the example of a book, literature may tell you howa character moves or stands or walks in the description, but it is our job as actors todo this kind of work. We have to give.
Our beauty is a gift to the audience.
Tomorrow I go in search of beauty.
Clown.
Costume flop.
But it got a laugh, my idea, Monsieur said that it could be a good idea this, the clown whose costume is not ready, but in a later exercise he said again that I mock myself, that I mock my costume and that I don't smile enough.
Righto monsieur.
You are right.
Tomorrow I try not to move so much on stage, come on with the feeling of a bad student, to smile more and not mock myself, rather to be optimistic and shine.
It's funny, when I am at home performing for the cat I am a good clown, light funny, optimistic but in class, non.
At home I can feel the kind of energy needed for the stage, yet it escapes me infront of the spotlights.
I want to find my funny in the spotlights.
I have had it before in front of the public and I want it again and again and again, to understand, with my body where it lives, how I can access it and use it to make a good living for me and my family. And if this smacks of desperation, Oui c'est ca, I am desperate to find it,I know I'm cut out for more than the odd fringe show once or twice a year.
Help me monsieur, help me to find how I am funny, s'il vous plait.
My knee which has been playing up since Friday is easing a bit but I decide that I won't take part in movement class today in case I agrevate it again.
The morning is spent creating the helmet and moustache for my costume.
There is no way I can be ready with that in time so after chatting with Al about it and her reminding me of a sort of similar problem I had in a previous workshop I decide the best thing to do is to take the hat, moustache belt and a plastic bag full of bits of cloth to class, I have no idea if it will be funny, in my head it kind of is.
Movement, I was late, I had to get the hat right, its bnasically the one piece of costume I have so it had better be good.
I creep in and watch my classmates on the silks, some of them are really good. I'm a bit gutted that my knee isn't working properly, I would limke to see if I've improved at all.
But then I don't think I'll be getting on the silks for at least another week, it would be stupid to do myself a real injury.
Le Jeu
Samuel says
Exercises in dancing
Wink murder to help us to understand what minor does. (He looks for the game)
Then an exercise I had read about but never done. Sock tails in a scene plus major/ minor.
It goes like this: Set up a room set, chairs a table, a sofa, a phone.
2 people each with socks down the back of their trousers, 1 is on stage, the other is off.
The person in major (the one on stage) starts the show " pretending to be actor"
The director has said to him, "your pleasure is fantastic, I want you to start the show" so he does, he shows his pleasure to be in the space to have fun, not be boring to take the stage. (major also has a ball)
When Monsieur professor plays the sound of a doorbell the player in major goes to answer the door. He throws the ball to the other player(minor) who now becomes major (minor, now major has come to borrow a cup of sugar) they speak with a voice to tease their friend. When they start to pedal in the sauerkraut (I believe we roast beef's say swim in the shit) they look at their friend cha-chack! moment of complicity. Throw them the ball. Their friend takes over.
At the same time they also play the sock tail game. If you get your friends sock, you give it back, not a fight for the sock like a previous game from Friday.
Phew
I hope this makes sense
Monsieur Gaulier said "Mark, you could be better in major, at the beginning you were better at the start of the exercise, not excellent but not totally horrible."
When another student playing in major entered with a gun Monsieur professor got her to play the scene and at the same time drop the scene and turn to her daddy in the audience and say something like...
" Daddy,look at me. I'm a terrorist. I'm going to walk 3 steps like a terrorist (she walked 3 steps). Daddy look at me. I'm not really a terrorist. It's just for the fun. ( she would keep pointing the gun at her partnerwhilst turning her head to talk to Daddy)
Daddy I'm going to shooty him now. Pchow Pchow! Her partner dies. Daddy its theatre. We can kill everybody. It's a joke, for the fun."
That's not word perfect, I'm not a stenographer nor can I rite short hand but it was something like this.
And in this little bit lies 1 part of the genius of le jeu.
The child soul of the actor, seeking love on the stage, carving out beauty within the lie of the theatre.
Daddy. Mummy. Look at me I'm on stage and I'm in major. Through the lens of childrens games we access the kingdom of fantasy and imagination. It is a beautiful world and you have to be beautiful to play there.
The actor has to beautiful even when he plays ugly.
During class Philippe got a student, Amy to touch the table without looking at it, to repeat the name frederic, frederic. at the end of clas Dan asked why this was.
Monsieur professor said that it was for effect, to help the audience to dream around the character. We wonder why she does this and these things stay with the audience, he gave the example of a book, literature may tell you howa character moves or stands or walks in the description, but it is our job as actors todo this kind of work. We have to give.
Our beauty is a gift to the audience.
Tomorrow I go in search of beauty.
Clown.
Costume flop.
But it got a laugh, my idea, Monsieur said that it could be a good idea this, the clown whose costume is not ready, but in a later exercise he said again that I mock myself, that I mock my costume and that I don't smile enough.
Righto monsieur.
You are right.
Tomorrow I try not to move so much on stage, come on with the feeling of a bad student, to smile more and not mock myself, rather to be optimistic and shine.
It's funny, when I am at home performing for the cat I am a good clown, light funny, optimistic but in class, non.
At home I can feel the kind of energy needed for the stage, yet it escapes me infront of the spotlights.
I want to find my funny in the spotlights.
I have had it before in front of the public and I want it again and again and again, to understand, with my body where it lives, how I can access it and use it to make a good living for me and my family. And if this smacks of desperation, Oui c'est ca, I am desperate to find it,I know I'm cut out for more than the odd fringe show once or twice a year.
Help me monsieur, help me to find how I am funny, s'il vous plait.
Costume crisis
Evening all, hope all is well with you and yours.
The weekend was pretty interesting, a first trip into Paris on Saturday to try and get things for my costume, on Friday Mnsieur Gaulier gave everyone in class a costume, moi je suis Obelix.
Obelix, obelix obelix, where are you hiding?
Possibly in march Montreuil, so to Montreuil.
So with hand in pocket gripping wallet I set out among the stoteholders and bargain hunting public....
Here Obelix obelix, where are you my little Obelix, is hee here amongst the second hand jackets and trousers?
Non Obelix no est ici.
How about there with the bric-a brac and dusty books?
Non.
Maybe with the pot and pan man? A helmet perhaps?
Non. Too small for my melon.
Suddenly a brain flash as I pass the fabric stall.
Yes! Lightning has streaked across my imagination, c'est un bon idee. A wide smile fixes itself to my face.
I'll make the costume from scratch myself.
Brilliant.
I leave the market with a new second hand suitcase, metres of blue and white fabric and armfulls of red wool for Obelix's moustache and hair.
I also have a plan for a silver foil helmet.
Ha ha ha, formidable.
Wait till they get a load of this in class on Monday.
P.m.
Drinking with friends I watch Saturday night float down the Seine
Due to works on the RER (train line) it takes a tipsy 3 hours to get home.
Merde!
Sunday.
Wake up at 11.
Breakfast till 11:30
Back in the room I take out the cloth, needles, cotton and wool.
Suddenly the realisation of the challenge I have set myself sits on the floor in front of me.
The last time I sewed anything was in a junior school art class.
Last night someone mentioned something about making a pattern.
A pattern?
Okay
Right.
Measurements.
Memories of fittings at drama school surface.
Inside leg.
right.
Ourside leg.
Check.
Now what?
I decide to approach this scientifically....
Hmm.
I look at my jeans hung over the armoir door.
okay, jeans, they seem to be made of 4 pieces, 2 for each leg.
Right. I decide I'll do the same thing.
I spot a black biro and without a seconds thought draw a thin black line down from chest to my naval. Okay this is my centre line.
I do the same on my inside leg and another line going up from the outside of my ankle to under my arm pit.
Now for the measurements...
Luckily Christine has dropped me off her sewing kit which contains a tape measure.
I measure accross between the 2 lines, first on the front of my body and then on the back.
"Maarrrk. dejuner!"
Ah Boef bourgignon, Beef and vegetables soaked overnight in a strong red wine.
After the late lunch I make my excuses re-enter the sweatshop and continue to measure and transfer them onto sheets of newspaper that I have cellotaped together.
It takes hours but by about 9 I have something resembling a pattern.
I pin it to the fabric and cut the shapes out.
All 4 pieces cut out I stand back to admire my handiwork.
Merde.
It really doesn't look like a pair of trousers yet.
I pin the 2 front pieces together and then the 2 back pieces.
Then I start to sew.
And sew.
And sew.
At 11:30 my aching back tells me it is time to retire to bed.
I have so far managed to stitch half of the front 2 piueces together.
I am so not going to be ready for class tomorrow.
I don't know if this will be a good clowns costume but for sure it will look like a costume made by a clown.
The weekend was pretty interesting, a first trip into Paris on Saturday to try and get things for my costume, on Friday Mnsieur Gaulier gave everyone in class a costume, moi je suis Obelix.
Obelix, obelix obelix, where are you hiding?
Possibly in march Montreuil, so to Montreuil.
So with hand in pocket gripping wallet I set out among the stoteholders and bargain hunting public....
Here Obelix obelix, where are you my little Obelix, is hee here amongst the second hand jackets and trousers?
Non Obelix no est ici.
How about there with the bric-a brac and dusty books?
Non.
Maybe with the pot and pan man? A helmet perhaps?
Non. Too small for my melon.
Suddenly a brain flash as I pass the fabric stall.
Yes! Lightning has streaked across my imagination, c'est un bon idee. A wide smile fixes itself to my face.
I'll make the costume from scratch myself.
Brilliant.
I leave the market with a new second hand suitcase, metres of blue and white fabric and armfulls of red wool for Obelix's moustache and hair.
I also have a plan for a silver foil helmet.
Ha ha ha, formidable.
Wait till they get a load of this in class on Monday.
P.m.
Drinking with friends I watch Saturday night float down the Seine
Due to works on the RER (train line) it takes a tipsy 3 hours to get home.
Merde!
Sunday.
Wake up at 11.
Breakfast till 11:30
Back in the room I take out the cloth, needles, cotton and wool.
Suddenly the realisation of the challenge I have set myself sits on the floor in front of me.
The last time I sewed anything was in a junior school art class.
Last night someone mentioned something about making a pattern.
A pattern?
Okay
Right.
Measurements.
Memories of fittings at drama school surface.
Inside leg.
right.
Ourside leg.
Check.
Now what?
I decide to approach this scientifically....
Hmm.
I look at my jeans hung over the armoir door.
okay, jeans, they seem to be made of 4 pieces, 2 for each leg.
Right. I decide I'll do the same thing.
I spot a black biro and without a seconds thought draw a thin black line down from chest to my naval. Okay this is my centre line.
I do the same on my inside leg and another line going up from the outside of my ankle to under my arm pit.
Now for the measurements...
Luckily Christine has dropped me off her sewing kit which contains a tape measure.
I measure accross between the 2 lines, first on the front of my body and then on the back.
"Maarrrk. dejuner!"
Ah Boef bourgignon, Beef and vegetables soaked overnight in a strong red wine.
After the late lunch I make my excuses re-enter the sweatshop and continue to measure and transfer them onto sheets of newspaper that I have cellotaped together.
It takes hours but by about 9 I have something resembling a pattern.
I pin it to the fabric and cut the shapes out.
All 4 pieces cut out I stand back to admire my handiwork.
Merde.
It really doesn't look like a pair of trousers yet.
I pin the 2 front pieces together and then the 2 back pieces.
Then I start to sew.
And sew.
And sew.
At 11:30 my aching back tells me it is time to retire to bed.
I have so far managed to stitch half of the front 2 piueces together.
I am so not going to be ready for class tomorrow.
I don't know if this will be a good clowns costume but for sure it will look like a costume made by a clown.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Naz this ones for you so i fill the quota... i want that squeker
After class........
few drinks,
few laughs...
missing somebody
will regale more about classes tomorrow...
I love what I'm doing.
love to all
few drinks,
few laughs...
missing somebody
will regale more about classes tomorrow...
I love what I'm doing.
love to all
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