Dab, Slash, Flick: Laban Movement with Patrick Earl

“Movement, to me, is integral as an actor is concerned,” stated Patrick Earl at the beginning of his Laban workshop. Appropriately, movement education makes up a significant part of the ASC Theatre Camp’s agenda. But prior to Patrick’s workshop, Laban was foreign to many of the campers. All week, returning campers were able to answer the frequent question, “Wait, what is Laban exactly?” with a promise that Laban is transformative in how it helps an actor move and speak. Laban Movement Analysis is separated into three categories: time, weight of the movement, and the way you move through space. Time pertains to how quickly the movement occurs, the weight refers to the strength behind the action, and Laban defines manner in eight effort actions: press, punch, dab, flick, slash, wring, float, and glide.

Patrick began by having the campers walk and explore the space in a natural, personal manner. Then he introduced the first effort action, asking the campers to “float” without direction. As the campers floated listlessly around the room, he called out numbers that indicated pace, 1 being the most subdued float and 10 being the most heightened float. Eventually he asked the campers to add purpose and direction to their floats, changing the action completely. Through these alterations, the campers discovered the diversity of a simple float. Patrick proceeded to take the campers through the rest of the eight effort actions, constantly changing the intensity and speed on the 1-10 scale while adding and removing direction. During each new action, he’d ask the campers which Shakespeare character they would associate with the action. For example, the “flick” motion brings to mind Ariel or Puck, while the “wring” motion conjures Richard III.

Throughout the exercise, Patrick prompted the campers to think about how their bodies were making these motions and to be aware of what their bodies’ centers were doing at all times. Randomly he would call for a switch from whatever movement they were doing to their normal gaits, saying “Shake it off! Back to you.” By the end of the cycle, the campers were familiar with the general Laban structure and were ready to apply it to text.

Patrick explained that while Laban obviously aids the actor with his or her physical choices when forming a character, it can also be applied to vocal choices as well. To illustrate this, Patrick asked the campers chose between two short monologues, one being Romeo’s proclamation that banishment is worse than death, and the other Juliet’s plea to her mother to break her engagement to Paris. The campers walked around the room and read their monologues eight times, each time reading in the style of one of the eight different effort actions. This way they could see which parts of the monologue fit well with certain actions. The campers then chose four to five of the actions and incorporated these actions vocally into their text. For example, Romeo may start out with a slash, then move into a punch, a dab, a wring, and end with a glide.

Once the campers developed their monologues, they performed them individually for the group. Every camper had made completely different choices for where they applied actions. When a camper’s actions were too vague, Patrick asked him or her to do the physical action while reading, to remind the camper of the actions’ distinctiveness. With the physical action in mind, the camper would perform the monologue again with more success, winning applause from the group. The end product was eighteen incredibly specific monologues that offered wide range of interpretations of these two texts. Patrick provided the campers with a wonderful toolbox of actions to help inspire them when forming onstage personas.

--Emma Lo

Session 1 Camper Interviews

Muslima Musawwir

Muslima is a first-time camper from Richmond, Virginia. Next year, she will be attending Shenandoah University.

What role do you play? Olivia in Twelfth Night


How are you similar to your character? Dissimilar?
We’re not similar in all of the people that she’s lost; she lost her father and brother, and she’s numb emotionally throughout the majority of the play. We are similar because in order for her to be so numb, she must have loved her family, and I have a lot of love for my family. Also she takes control of everything, and I’ll say this – I’m the leader! And she’s fascinated with the whole idea of love, the whole thought of love in general, and I am too.

How did you find out about ASC Theatre Camp/why did you choose to spend your summer here?
I came to see Much Ado about Nothing, and I got one of the flyers, and I was interested--I wanted to do it! Last summer I did training with Shakespeare also, but I didn’t get a lot out of it. So I wanted to get more training since I’m going to college this year.

How does ASC Theatre Camp compare to other productions you’ve been in?
For me, you get more out of ASC Theatre Camp because you actually get the workshops. It’s not just the plays, you get masterclasses and pre-show, and then you get to see actors doing professional shows. We’re learning from people who have been doing Shakespeare for years.

What it your favorite part of rehearsal?
My favorite part of rehearsal is when -- every day we all get in a circle before we start practice, and we check-in: you can either do an action or emotion, and you can see how everyone is doing. Then we set goals for what we want to do throughout rehearsal; it’s like setting a standard of things you want to get done.


Favorite workshop/masterclass?
I would say Mask (with Tom DuMontier) and Devising (with Sara Holdren), because both were about letting yourself go and freeing your thoughts and reacting to something without actually thinking about it.


How would you describe the Session 1 group?
Extreme, adorable, excited, and innocent and…demons!


If you could give one piece advice to the camp before the performances on Sunday, what would it be?
To just breathe, enjoy yourself and everything else will work out!

Jon Freesen 

Also a first time camper, Jon of Staunton, VA will be working on his own film next year, a modern-day adaptation of A Christmas Carol called Humbug.

What role do you play? Romeo in Romeo and Juliet


How are you similar to your character? Dissimilar?
I’ve always been, for as long as I can remember, hopelessly romantic. I’ve been a romantic since I was very, very young, so I can relate to him in that sense. I feel like I would enjoy all of the same activities as Romeo. He’s not too much into sports, he doesn’t carry a sword with him, I kinda like to think he’s a musician, he probably writes shitty poetry which I can relate to.

How did you find out about ASC Theatre Camp/why did you choose to spend your summer here?
I found out about it either through going to see shows or through my sister. I wanted to do it last year, but it was either finish my Eagle Scout projector do this.Tthe deadline for Eagle Scout was at 18th birthday, so I decided to not do this instead. This is my first and last summer here.
How does ASC Theatre Camp compare to other productions you’ve been in?


I grew up in a very artsy family. My first play was at five, when I was in The Magician’s Nephew; after that I did a lot of stuff with ShenanArts, and my sister has directed a few plays that I’ve been in with her. Most of them have been great experiences. For a while I chose to take a break to do other things, may have been two years ago. I do love it.
People know what they’re doing with this. The people leading really know what they’re doing and are very passionate, and they know what it’s about. A lot of people in theater don’t know what they’re doing, and it’s frustrating being in productions where they don’t understand what they’re doing and don’t care about it. This is my first Shakespeare show.

What have been your favorite parts of camp?
There’s always that moment when it’s late in the rehearsals, and you realize that everything’s coming together with Romeo and Juliet and with the pre-show, and you just see it all and realize this is going to work! It’s really kind of extraordinary. The Blackfriars Playhouse stage is hallowed ground. From time to time when someone mentions, “we’re going to be performing this on the Blackfriars Playhous stage,” it’s almost surreal. Some serious geniuses and masterminds have worked on the stage where we are. It’s an honor, but it’s intimidating.

Favorite workshop/masterclass?
Probably either Dance (with Denise Mahler), which surprised me because I am not a dancer, and maybe Voice(with Alli Glenzer). A lot of the stuff I’d heard before, but the workshops helped me understand it better.

How would you describe the Session 1 group?
They’re pretty goofy, but I get a sense that all of them, even some of them that were “sent” by their parents, they’re still serious about it and are starting to feel the passion. Just about everybody’s pretty friendly.

If you could give one piece advice to the camp for the performances on Sunday, what would it be?
Just enjoy it! Have fun in what you’re doing and love every minute of what you’re doing, love it and also try to live it. Don’t just say lines, be what you’re saying, live what you’re saying.

--Emma Lo

Moving Freely

            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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