Late notes from Friday 25th

Firday was a very insightful day.

We started with MIME class with massive amounts of undulations (front, sides on the floor... mmmm, on the floor)

Then we moved on to the new excercise of Pulling the Rope which pretty comes from the sidward undulation. Some of the basic guidlines are (true for all mime stuff) pulling something means that hands move last. Remembeer fixed points and to fall into the pulling motion. And the footwork... Same as pushing stuff, heels go up on the foot that holds the bodyweight.

On Voiceclass we did the advanced vrison of the reaching to the sky feldenkrais stuff we did one of the first lessons. As we reached up with arms and shoulders we rotated the hips to totherside giving the spine a twist and opening the chest. Good one!

On Mask class we showed our friday groupwork and ole went throuh each piece and character for possible improvements....

Masks Play Poker (23/11/11)

Hello Team!

Well, in ACROBATICS today, we didn't really do anything new. If you can remember anything, then please post it, otherwise this day in Acrobatics will be forgotten forever in history.

I'll wait...

...

...

...

...

...very good, thank you.

Now, in MASK this day we did TONS of new stuff!

1) We started with Masks on a Beach. Hilarious! It works the best when you don't force anything to happen. Don't forget to give the mask to the audience all the time. Also, give yourself a functional task to do on the beach so that there is some activity to keep the mask alive.

2) Hold the mask tightly in your hand with your fingers on the top. Now look at the mask at different angles. Now have the mask take a look at different parts of you.

3) Masks Playing Poker--four people enter the stage where there sit four chairs in a half circle position as if around a card table. Someone deals the cards. The four masks play a card game. Eventually someone wins and everyone exits.

-Every time something happens, look at the thing that happened (like someone playing a card or someone exiting or someone winning, etc) then react in the direction of the audience.

Words of advice:

-Don't confuse the movement of the mask with too much movement--ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT!!!

-Isolate one part of your body and move that part in order to react to something.

-Pick one emotion (or make one character choice) and choose only a few specific movements and use those for the character. Then find different degrees of that emotion/choice to play with on stage.

Well, there you have it. Now, who wants to play poker?...........no, I'm serious..........

Sincerely,

This Guy Roby

holaaaa people beautiful people......

First of all i just want to say something...on friday we had the melodramma show of 2 year...
i really enjoyed the show.because of them ,they were great,but even because i enjoyed too much to see our fitness hall,swimming pool.school.whatever i call it, transformed like that.A lot of people came and with the low light and everything i saw in front of me this transformation that really emotioneted a lot.
It showed to me the long or short way that we have in front of us and a point where in the future we all are going to pass by.For me acting is really new and seeing the show uuuuuu i am going to be in that stage like them...I felt i think the same emotions and nervosism they felt ,because was seeing myself not too far in the future......

ok lets begin....after one week of no fisik attivities,
impulse ...leg in front behind,left right .find the center ,the head and all the body strecht up  dont move looking forward...

-sit down cross legs ,leave the head reach the floor and push the hands in front and release
-open legs and with both hands on the same leg push and pull....move the back
-legs in front hands on legs back streight  head reach up and the 4 movements in front back down up...
then you join even looking up streching the neck and back till 8
-cross legs,head on a side,open shoulders,and move the back and the head on the side try to reach the floor
-stretching open legs bottom down hands on the knees shoulders go up and look behind
-then go down and sit on one flat feet, knee outside ,body in front inside the knee
-then we began to experiment the different ways of walking...

-ok walk on thumbs,on toes,inside part of the leg ,outside part,one leg inside part one leg outside leg....
-walk in the streight line  ,like you walk in one string or walk with the legs apart each other in 20 cm and you walk up 2 strings paralele to each other
-walk with the both toes that goes inside ,or with the both toes that goes outside...
-walk with this different ways of putting the legs on the floor together with the different part of the body...
one time the knees are the one that give the impulse ,then the head has the impulse,the chest and the beli....

-so try to exersice all this different ways of walking ....try to make in the most natural way relaxed one and try even to exagerate ,that all the body get influenzed of one movement you do.....


2 part of the class......
we began with the exerzice of the eye that look from the key...
this helps a lot in focusing .see how you can see from your mask ....how you get more dettails,how you get near or far to see the things better..the same method we are going to use with the mask

then ...was the fisrt time that we had our own masks....so we had a chair and we had to take the mask and make it life.....

Important.....THE CHARACTER IS IN THE FOOT...all the exercise that we did the first part are really important to understand that different way of showing our boddy different characters we create...
so specially for the fully masks where the body movement is really important is importanat to built your own character with the body

Dont think to much.....See the mask for one minute,follow what the mask says to you,Not think about
And you put the body in the position the mask say to you and for all the time you have to keep the same but in a relaxed way however....

Masks do irrational things...
Let yourself to be surprised
Relax yourself....

There are really nice masks in the class.we just have to work a litlle bit and maybe we can do the mask show.....i would really like ....so come people training and relaxing

by and love

Música Regional de Oaxaca - El Feo (Nanga Ti Feo)

nanga ti feo cancion en zapoteco

Spotlights, Keyholes, Imaginary Stretches and Countermask!

This friday was aa rather overwhelming one.

We started with MIME class where we've been focusing mostly on isolations connected to maskwork.

After the usual warmup we went through the isolation excercises by our selves (as a reminder to paractice in our free time...)

We did the keyhole excercise again, watching through a hole in our fistss to reproduce the sensation of focusing through a mask. (Move, notice, stop, focus)

Afterwards we moverd on to a new excercise for the maskwork. We called it spotlight. We imagined a spotlight attached to our foreheads and had see things with the spotlight. Keeping our eyes alligned with our head, trying to see noticing everything on the way as our head moves in different directions without any jumps with our eyes.

(It helped me to concentrate on the image of the spotlight, because having a too small focus point is really hard to maintain...)

After this we moved on to VOICEWORK:

We had a new excercise:

First: As we sat we grabbed one leg with the same arm on the heel, and with the other by the toes, turning the other leg back.

We moved the leg being held in circles towards the back of the head and back down again in the same curve. (Doesn't matter how far we could reach)

Second: 

BRB!!!

Hickory Dickory Dock and "Rolling on a Block" (by Adele)

Class 10/11/11

Well, hello my amigos y amigas.

Escuchame!

ACROBATICS

New stuff:

-We began the day by warming up walking around the room...with bigger and bigger steps...then maximum big steps...then even bigger...then suddenly to small steps...and even smaller...then walking normally. How fun!

-Headstands. Sounds the same, you say. Read on, reader. We were challenged today to move on from the headstand where we have our hands on the top of our heads INTO the nose-cruncher. Booya! Work on it!

-Break dancing move. Swing the leg around and around, keeping it straight, and lifting your hands and other foot out of the way. I find it helpful to place my two hands and non-swinging foot in a triangle formation, so there's always two of the three on the ground. Also, I find it helps to keep my weight rocking around opposite of my swinging leg, which requires leaning my upper body around and around.

-The Throne (sitting on your partner's feet while they lie on their back). Let's add running into the throne position, and then eventually running and jumping into the throne position. Person sitting on the throne: this requires placing all your weight on your hands for as long as possible until your weight is well balanced on your partner.

-Front rolls. Except this time, let's roll on a box and sit on the end of it! Jump into the roll so that your head may end up off the edge of the box you're grabbing onto. Grab onto the very corners of the box, perhaps for stability.

IMPROV/MASK

"Your body must be aware of the space, because with masks you don't know what the hell everyone else is doing. You're blind." -- Ole Brekke

-First, we heard the children's rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock" recited by our very own Ole Brekke. We then reenacted the poem on our own according to the rhythm and sound of the poem, NOT according to the words of the poem. Then we split up into groups of three and choreographed bits of movement to this poem. Gorgeous!

-To further emphasize NOT acting out the words, we heard poems from different languages and moved our bodies according to whatever images came to mind as someone recited the poem out loud. Beautiful, people. Suprisingly accurate with the story of the poem itself. Just goes to show how much the sound and rhythm of words have to do with the actual meaning.

-Then, we moved on to choreographing movement pieces to the poems "And If" and "Light Pole" in groups.

-Finally, we began to play with our masks by setting up a scenario in a library.

Three masked characters.

Character 1 (C1) enters the library, giving the mask to the audience, looking for something. There is a change (either of tempo or intention).

Character 2 (C2) enters (make noise, make it easy for C1 to know you've entered, because remember you're all blind). C1 leaves. There is a change in C2.

Character 3 (C3) enters from the other side. C2 and C3 interact. There is a change.

C1 reenters. You all interact. Find an ending.

Things of NOTE:

1. Masks are caricatures, so make your movements and your body position as big as possible according to how the mask inspires you, according to what images the mask gives you. Take a moment to look at the mask before you create a character out of it.

2. Focus on the objects or people first, THEN react and give the mask to the audience (aka, keep your body completely still as you look at the object of your attention, then look at the audience with your reaction to that object).

3. Stick to just a few certain movements for your mask character instead of establishing new movements. This makes who the character is extremely easy for the audience to interpret and understand.

4. Push your poses bigger. Make everything bigger with a mask on!

Appreciation and Maskication,

David

Janusz 8th of november: Working with diagonals

1)Lying on the bag with legs up :)
2)Take the arms straight above your head. Move the right hand and the left foot. Make small cirkles with both. See how the movements relate to each other.
3)Then also move the head from one side to the other, while moving the eyes the opposite way the head is going.
4) Relax
1) Do the same with the other arm and leg


1) Take both arms straight above the head. Move the right arm and the left leg. Explore what movements are possible with these diagonal movements. explore, but be gentle. Do the same with the other arm and foot.
2) Now do the same thing again while turning the head from one side to the other as well, while looking the other way with the eyes.
3) Do the same ground exercise while turning the head up and down, while looking the opposite way.

Relax.

1) Turn your head from one side to the other and notice what's happening.. (with me the eyes automaticall wanted to try to go the opposite way as the head)

 Now get ready for coming up sitting. Then get ready for standing.

Up standing now notish how how feel.

Start walking. Notish how you are being pulled or pushed while you are walking.
Let it happen, don't force it.

Afterwards we were one by one walking a little bit and the rest of us should see if the person was being pulled or pushed. It was very different from all of us. only few were neutral.
This exercise is good for working with a more neutral expression. We want to surprise and challenge the nerve-system , so that our habits get broken and we can be aware of what we are doing normally, in order to be able to go to a neutral state, to use for example while working with the mask.

In the end we were making exercises to walk with the mask, like having lamps in your eyes, and only from there you can focus. Imaging you are walking for example in a dark forest, dark museum or park....

Hasta luego
Signe.

Janusz tuesday 31rd oct.

-Lying on the back, legs up (surprise ;-)
 Imagine you are looking to one side, while really looking to the other side.
-Look up and down, while imagining you are looking the opposite way.
- Turning the head to one side, while imagining you are turning it the other way.
-Turning the head up and down, while imagining you are turning it the other way.
-Taking up the leg, while imagining you are taking it down, and take it down, while imagining taking it up.
Afterwards try walking around. The exercizes makes you feel very relaxed, and can have an effect to make one open up to what is possible, because they are challeging your nerve-system. The whole day after these exercizes I felt very grounded.

After this we were asked to like many different kinds of plasticbags and -pieces. Janusz had one at the time in the air and was letting them fall, where after in two groups we were changing to be the plastic materials.
 After that we were working with being like bacon frying on a pan, then how and egg is frying, and then how they are frying on top of each other. First bacon, then egg. Groups of five.

Being and egg looks best lying on the floor with the stomach down.

By Signe :)

"Jordan, Gordon" and the famous music with Bus Stop Adventures

Well, folks, we did a lot today, so let's hop to it!

MIME

New stuff:

-Wavy arms, but this time we did them backwards and also with one arm going forward and the other going backwards. CRAZY! Try to have a "David Detachment" as the illustrious Ole put it.

-New warmup--rest your ankle on your knee, make sure your foot is hanging over your knee completely, and place your arm on the stretched leg. Do this while sitting down.

-And of course, we worked on Mime walks once again.

VOICE

-Lie on your back. "Stand up your legs" as Janusz puts it. Then cross one leg over the other as if you're crossing your legs like you would if you were sitting on a chair. Let your legs fall to the side of the leg on top. Then place your palms together above your head and push your arms to the side of your body keeping your arms straight and palms together all the time.

-Now, say the "Jordan, Gordon" poem while skipping, walking, and stomping. Be extravagent!

IMPROV

-Ole played two pieces of music for us this day and we did the following with them:

-The music is your partner. Start in an apartment, and open the door to your partner. At some point leave the apartment. Interact, really play with the music, and react to its changes and mood. We did this four times, so each of us had four different stories and four different partners (if we were lucky, yeow!).

-Bus stop with groups of four people. Listen to both the music and to each other. You may or may not actually get on the bus.

-Words from David: don't wait to see what your partners are imagining on stage (especially by pointing at something to try and find common ground), but just go with your partner's mood and intention and react. Listen to the music.

-You can react with or against the music. These are both perfectly reasonable and hilarious options.

Great work. That be it for today.

Much love,

David

7 novembre

hi hi hi people...
monday 7 nov.....
i had really really a beautiful day today.....
to be sincerly the school for me is becaming to be more and more nice and coinvolgent...funny and serios

however become with the 2 part ....
group work...movement of the style of the painter....for our group Frida and the other group Munch..
(for our group i think we did a good work,there were the colors,red and grey and the lines and her in the middle and this push and pull from the center,I think is what we wanted to present and that we worked for.....good work.Even the other group was good too.maybe more lines and more colors,we get only the dark colors ,so more colors)
I liked this task,we even studied her life and her style.A new painter in my knoweledges ha ha ha

Than we all took the masks that everybody has done Attention somebody hasnt done it....AIAIA
Good work .Nice masks.
And what we did?Was just giving life to the Masks

We saw that there are some masks that have already a strong character and there are the ones that just hide the actor ,the face of the actor.In the strong masks the character is already strong so the body or the movement shouldnt be strong,and the contrary if the masks are weak we have to find the right movements in order to give them life.....The masks with the stong character are the one full of colors,busy,that speaks by itself

Exerzise for focusing the whole of the key.....look through a small whole in your hand ....The masks focus like that...You pay more attention to the things,and move slowly ..
Dont forget to focus,small movements of the head and always always show the pubblic the mask
Focus on the pubblic.Share with the pubblic the mask and what you are watching

When you touch the masks you can see how much all the magic goes away immediatly.When the masks is not  human and we touch it with human fingers  aaaaaaaaaaa no good
So people dont touch the masks ,dont point with the fingers

Never dont be stoped by our human limit.When you put a mask you are not anymore you o not a human being....Improvise .Use the fantasy .Try  how can you take a contact with the mask.....

During the first part of the class we did the isolation of the varios part of the body...head, neck, chest, hips  use them ...was really good speacilly the head was beautifulll

we create groups of 3 o 4 took a masks and together we tryed to help each other how to reach to do as good movements......when you like one movement you say more more.....

OK During the first part of the class...
Stretching.....
Impulse
Isolation colored with different expressions.....
Ondulation


This for today people...
I love you all and i love this school a lot.....i am happy ....it make me happy

homeworks

for monday .....1..the group work of the painters style movements.....
                        2   understand how we go on the stairs

Isolations, torturous stretches and MUSIC!

The blogging enthusiasm is getting lower and lower,

we need to shape up guys!

Anyways...

MIME:

On today's mime lesson we worked mostly with some of the basics.

We started out with the 'classical' Ole warmup, the counting back stretches with a new element: bending forwards over one leg crossed over the other with the ankle over the supporting knee...

and also impulse excercises and the Idiot Says Hi.

We reached the final form of the screwdriwer excercise, doing one arm in one directions the other in the opposite which makes it into a kind of windmill and worked some more on the

frontal Mime Walk illusion.

HOMEWORK: Observe how the movements of people look walking towards us with a slanted eye 

(it should be easier to notice the images of the movements this way)

AND STUDY WALKING UP AND DOWN ON STAIRS for Monday!

We finsihed with some rather intense stretches:

Both feet pointing frowards we step forward with one leg straight (feet flat on the floor) support our weight with our hands on the floor then bending and stretching each leg.

On the IMPRO class we started working with music!

The main note for this class was to treat the music as our partner. Go with it, go against it, let the images conjured up by the music influence us... But do not dance with the music or ignore it. Definetly not ignore it.

Music is not just a wallpaper.

We wroked with Tristtango from Astor Piazzola and a Schuman piece called Finnegan's Cave individually and in groups. (both of which was trippy and hilarious)

My personal experience was that after getting to know the details of ech piece of music it helped both with getting the images clear and with the group communication (if we did not ignore the music, and forced our own stories...)

It seemed to me that even though our individual visions might have been VERY different listening to each other was much easier beacuase the music naturally provided a common thread, so we could switch the intellect off easier and follow the basic impulses of the partners much faster.

My personal experience 

2nd Family Meeting...Booya!

OPENING THOUGHTS

-Things are going pretty well for us, folks.

-Komol--He understands English fairly well, but he cannot speak it very well. If he needs us to repeat something, then he will ask us to. Pay attention to him, and make sure to check in for understanding. We're a family, people!!

-We're all progressing well. Yay us.

-This week was full of confusion and busy-ness.

-Let's support each other, especially as times get harder and busier, to make sure that we are patient and loving of one another during these stressful times.

-Let's push ourselves!

-If you have a proposal in the meeting, then you are allowed to speak out of turn by saying first, "I have a proposal." Then we will hear your potential solution.

PREVIOUS MEETING'S NOTES

-Cleaning week people OVERSEE cleaning. not do it yourself

-Ruth still apologizes.

-Cleaning has gotten better. Good job, folks. Keep it up.

-We're making too much of a mess in class, and we are talking too much during class. It's disturbing. Please try and be better about not talking while we're working in class (private conversations, go away), and also try to be better about cleaning up after yourself in the Work Space (gym) after classes.

-Talking over each other is especially a problem during group work rehearsals. Keep this in mind.

-Joking around is fine, and having fun is great, but we need to be much more focused and respectful while we are in classes. We are there to work. So, let's work.

COMMUNICATION

-We must take responsibility for ourselves and be on time for and aware of rehearsals. No more "5 minutes until rehearsal, people!" It is all about the WAY you say it. Don't force people and be aggressive in your tone, but be understanding and treat each other like adults. You don't have to teach anybody. We are all here to learn.

-Perhaps we should start more rehearsals on time instead of waiting for other members of the group? Or just be responsible for yourself and be on time, because we can't do group work unless everyone is prepared and on time. Communicate with the group. If you can't be on time, then maybe step out of the group and communicate that with them. Be there or don't be there!

-Treat each other as equals. No mommying or daddying others and bossing them around. Either that or we have for sure leaders in the group. What is the solution? Perhaps just don't tell each other what to do.

-We need people who are target oriented as well as process oriented, because it takes all sorts to make a successful group.

-Think before you speak.

-Speaking over each other is still a problem.

-Clear and Immediate communication. Don't talk with food in your mouth. Let's accept each other's small habits, no matter what they are. This means dealing with it on a one-on-one manner, not in public. If you have a problem with it, then tell that person directly; don't make it public knowledge.

2ND YEAR'S LIST

-Clean an extra 5% at the end of lunch

1) Please do not interrupt the 2nd Year's classes. Even opening the door is distracting, so please refrain from entering that space in any way while they are in class.

2) Kitchen. Clean it and make sure it is in order. This means keeping objects in sensible places (computers and electronics not on the kitchen counter, and even keeping them off of the top and bottom shelf of the coffee table, dishes clean and in the dish rack, or if your dishes are not clean then put them to the left of the sinks). Clean countertops and tables, please.

3) Shoes. Keep them on the shoe wracks, please. Thank you.

4) Who's going to take out the trash after classes. Two people in charge of cleaning for the week need to make arrangements for themselves. There are too many damn flies around!

5) Perhaps we should clear off the coat racks in the kitchen and dressing rooms and collect the extra stuff in a donation box. Or perhaps this idea is dumb.

-We just need to respect the space. For those of us who live here, we need to remember that this is not actually our space. It is a privilege to live here. However, for those of us who live here, we and our stuff are not invisible, so we perhaps can't be expected to keep our stuff more compact. Those of us who live here will take more space. Living here should not take away the focus of the school--to learn and grow as artists and professionals. Everyone, let's keep our stuff in compact spaces, instead of spreading it out all over the space. Respect the space. Respect the space. We must keep our personal lives (especially those of us who live at the school) and our work space separated at least mentally.

-In summation: we have physical limitations (like not having access to the work space at times), but if we can keep it all organized and clean, then it can work.

-This is a School. Therefore, let's create a school atmosphere and environment, not a home atmosphere and environment. It is a learning space.

-Every time we have a family meeting, we will have a family clean up party afterwards, especially the coat racks. YAY!!!

-Shall we have a cleaning PARTY!!!! Ruth will put up a list where we can all sign up for the weekends we are available to clean every single corner of this place!

Meeting adjourned!

Love,

Uncle David

Walk, Talk, and Be in Touch with your Inner Element

Hello my studious (look it up) friends. Last Friday's notes (don't judge me, it's been a long week for all of us):

MIME

Well, we did Mime walks, and we learned a new one: "Walking forward as seen from the front"

-point your toe, put weight on your pointed toe foot, then push your other foot diagonally backwards behind your toed foot while maintaining a straight leg, get it?

We also walked through water. What an improvement, everybody!

Then, we rowed like the wind. Rowing...Woohoo! Remember to keep the rowing motion small with surges rowing forward and back.

Ooh ooh ooh! We also learned a new stretch! Sit down with legs straight in front of you. Now, spread your legs, place your hands underneath your ankles, and bend your arms up, forcing your legs to stretch around the pelvic area and other places if you try hard enough. ;-)

VOICE

Sit, spread legs, hug your chest and breathe into the three different lungs you have: top, middle, and bottom--bottom being at the bottom of your ribs, and top being at your breasts. Remember to breathe into the lungs on EACH side.

Now, say the Scotch Rhapsody. now say it with a cork in your mouth. Now say it with a partner, one line at a time. NOW say it as extravagantly as you can. A Rhapsody by definition should be as extravagant as possible.

MASK

Presentations!! -- Football field, restaurant, and a bar

Things I learned from these and remember from what Ole said:

1. Be more aware of each other and be more spontaneous in order to react in the moment and provoke each other. Air is pulled everywhere to fill the space.

2. Don't be too specific with the space and limit yourself.

3. Don't have too much character (water is not a drunk--it's water, fire is not a dancer--it's fire)

4. HAVE A CLEAN START AND A CLEAN FINISH!!!!!

After this, we humanized the elements. Be yourself with these characteristics:

1. Water--always moving even just a little.

2. Air--surprised by what is there when it turns, because it's head is the last thing to move.

3. Fire--react from the core, not just angry but also excited.

4. Earth--plant every movement, especially onto other actors.

Then, we became COLORS, which we all absolutely loved, yes!!!!! Don't be affected by emotions. Just show the colors.

The movements are guided by the following principles:

-Open vs. Closed

-High vs. Low

-High amount of released tension vs. Low amount of released tension

Much love. That's the end of today's post. Booya!

David of the Roby clan