The workshops held at ASC Theatre Camp aim to
instill a wide variety of skills that are applicable to the performance and
understanding of early modern text. Denice Mahler’s dance workshop got the
campers working actively on their feet and interacting with the performance
space and with each other. Mahler
implemented Anne
Bogart’s “Viewpoints” method that
provides a concrete way for discussing and acting on movement and gesture. The
workshop challenged campers' comfort zones and implemented non-verbal
communication, the result of which was a good, clean sweat for all involved.
We were first charged with moving around the space. What
was at first a simple task graduated in complexity, adding new challenges.
First, we worked with different levels of speed. Sometimes half of the group
worked at minimal speed while others raced about them. It was difficult to control
one’s own motions while being aware of those of others, especially when the
others were racing about them. The next challenge was moving in a certain
pattern. We’d either move in a circular pattern or set to a grid. In doing so,
the campers discovered new things about the space. During the group discussion,
Marianna Moynihan said that being confined to walking
on a grid made her realize the grid like pattern on the ceiling of the space,
which she used to guide her movement. Many of the campers claimed that they
reacted in a similar fashion: taking cues from the space to guide their action.
At this point, Mahler added music to
the mix. The music ranged from dubstep
to smooth jazz to upbeat pop. The result was impressive. As Mahler fed us different
directions for how to interact with the space, it became apparent that most of
the campers lost any inhibitions about movement that they may have had. Keeping
with the idea of making some motions bigger and interacting with the space,
action was assigned to one body part, and we would explore out ability to
translate it to another body part. The general consensus of the group was that
we discovered and worked new muscles that we didn’t know we had!
When working “freely,” patterns
began to take shape. Mahler would gently suggest ways to move: using different
levels, speeds, mimicking, etc. What was truly wonderful to see, however, was
how relationships began to develop on their own. These exercises were non-verbal,
but the campers took the initiative and acted out a variety of motions. Some
created characters based on an exaggerated motion. Others worked with space,
forming shapes around the scene created by another camper. Many mimicked the
motion of another camper, and they were able to move around each others' empty
space without verbal communication. The energy and emotion during this exercise
was thrilling to witness. Each movement that the campers would go through very
much retained their own personal character, but the fluidity of action and
variation in movement was astonishing.
After a brief and well-earned water
break, we began a new group exercise. Walking in a circle, we were made to jump
on the count of three. The goal of this exercise was to land at the same time
and as soundlessly as possible. When we had completed this task, we were made
to do it again without being prompted by Mahler’s counting. After a few
unsuccessful attempts, we were able to all jump and land as a group at the same
time without any verbal communication whatsoever.
Our final exercise for the dance
workshop was to create a series of five tableaus, or still images, to present
to the group. We divided up into groups of four and picked a fairy tale that
the group would then have to guess. These tableaus were silent and still with
only actions to hint at what fairy tale it was to the audience. The viewpoints
exercises that addressed shape came in handy here, since the campers had to
become scenery as well as characters. In one group, we saw campers become a
fire, a ship, and a crocodile in their series of images. Despite the fact that
the workshop was tiring and intense, the general consensus was that the two
hour long workshop flew by.
Madeleine M. Oulevey
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