Declan Donnellan

Declan Donnellan, the contemporary practitioner.

Targets

Donnellan said, "An Actor can't do anything without a target."

We also looked into Targets. A "Target" is something that allows an actor to focus on something to recall and action or event or happening. For example, when you talk about what you did yesterday, you look to the side and for a moment, you see yourself getting out of bed, getting dressed, having breakfast. You are able to see the breakfast in front of you and it is that kind of image popping into your head, which makes your eyes flick to the side when you're talking to someone.

Once you have seen that exact image, it helps you to describe it more fluently and in detail. You need to be able to find your targets whilst acting to allow you to be believable on stage. Your eyes are looking for a memory to be able to describe. For example, in Romeo and Juliet there is always a target that your character or your lines relate to, such as:
"I deceive Lady Capulet."
"I tease the Nurse."
"I warn Romeo."

Visualising these events allows the audience to see what you see. For example, "I search for the moon." if you see the moon and you look up whilst on stage and remember what a moon looks like, the image will come into your head, allowing you to see and describe it as accurately as you remember, allowing the audience to see the same moon. It doesn't have to be a real image that you remember, it can be from a TV program or from a film or magazine. It is this kind of connection to yourself, your character and to the audience that allows you to have the deep emotional connection that the theatre brings to people.

With blocks, you have to take them one step at a time. You must simplify and internally see and figure out what your block is. However, with targets, you must externalise what you're doing and allow the audience to connect to it.

Blocks

In this book, Donnellan talks about how actors come up with blocks in rehearsals, which prevent them from continuing with their work, such as a runner in a marathon - hitting the wall - they have to push through it to find the finish line or answers that they are looking for. For example: If an actor is not sure how to interpret a scene or monologue.

Some ideas that we came up with are:
- Not understanding or relating to your character.
- Learning your lines
- Objectives
- Not understanding the language (e.g. Shakespeare)

Donnellan liked to have these "blocks" written in a very simplistic form, so that it is very clear and simple what the actor is struggling with. For example, not being able to understand or relate to your character, simply becomes, "I don't know who I am."
So:
- Not understanding or relating to your character: I don't know who I am.
- Learning your lines: I don't know what I am saying.
- Objectives: I don't know what I want.
- Understanding the language: I don't know what I am saying.

The main "blocks" that Declan Donnellan talks about in his book, which he thinks are the most important for an actor to overcome are:
1. I don't know what I am doing.
2. I don't know what I want.
3. I don't know who I am.
4. I don't know where I am.
5. I don't know how I should move.
6. I don't know what I should feel.
7. I don't know what I'm saying.
8. I don't know what I'm playing.

He wanted to make it clear that a director will not change. They will not alter their ways of working for you, but phrasing it in this simplistic way, may allow the director to alter things to help you. For example. If you are confused about the space, you say to the director, "I don't know where I am" and they could use tape to mark out which rooms or objects are where on stage, to allow you to visualise it.

These blocks are internal. They allow the actor to close down and to focus on what is inside them.

Declan Donnellan

This week, we looked at a contemporary practitioner, Declan Donnellan. Donnellan echos more traditional practitioners, but in a contemporary style. He works with his partner, Nick Omerod, on a company called "Cheek by Jowl" where they often perform in the Barbican. Some of their shows include, Othello, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Out Cry, The Changeling and Three Sisters.

In 1989 he was associate director of the Royal National Theatre. He directed plays such as, Sweeney Todd and Angels in America. He has also directed for the ENO (English National Opera) and the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company).

He has worked on ballets, musicals, theatre, operas and a lot of Shakespeare work. He works in both Russian and English and wrote the book, "The Actor and The Target"

The Efforts

We looked at Laban's efforts and how they can help to add depth, meaning and understanding to every line a character has on stage. If you imply these meanings through your words, you will be able to interpret your lines with a lot more truth and honesty.

We pretended that we were standing in a glass box and we were able to move our body to explore the tiny space we were in. We used our arms, legs, heads, elbows, hands, any part of our body that we could move. Tim called out the different efforts and we practiced them. This was a hard exercise because it was such hard work to do the strong emotions. But, it was very helpful and allowed us to see how important the meaning behind your words is on-stage and how important it is to really work out what you're saying.

The Efforts

Light/Flexible/Sustained = Floating

Light/Flexible/Broken = Flicking

Light/Direct/Sustained = Gliding

Light/Direct/Broken = Dabbing

Strong/Flexible/Sustained = Wringing

Strong/Flexible/Broken = Slashing

Strong/Direct/Sustained = Pressing

Strong/Direct/Broken = Thrusting/Punching

These efforts supposedly come together to make up the complete human emotions and the messages behind each line we speak. 

Defining the Elements

Light:

Light implies functioning with ease. There is no weight to your movements. Your arms and legs are free and able to move softly and without effort. This was an easy movement as it required little effort.

Strong:

Strong implies that you are functioning with hard, powerful movements. As if you are trying to move through sand or mud. It makes your arms and legs move with effort, as though walking through sand up to your knees. This was particularly tiring and required a lot of effort.

Direct:

Direct implies that you are functioning in a harsh and rather forceful way. You know what you want and you are going to get it. You can look at where your hands and feet are moving to, as you move them, to give a sense of purpose. This move was tiring as it involved a lot of effort and a large physicality.

Flexible:

Flexible implies that you have no focus and are able to move or go anywhere. You are able to bend and form lots of different shapes and in different directions. You bend your hands, feet and face and you allow yourself not to have a focus point, so that you are flexible to move or go anywhere. This movement was quite gentle and easy, you have to move gently for it to be flexible.

Sustained:

Sustained implies that you are moving in one motion, you're not breaking the motion or stopping, you have energy flowing from one physical state to another. This movement was quite hard to keep up, especially if the other two elements are strong and direct. It tends to be slower and takes on a gentle physicality, such as moving through water or gliding.

Broken:

Broken implies that your movements are abrupt. You are jabbing through the air, creating a harsh atmosphere. This movement was tiring, as it was hard work to keep up. It tends to be fast, such a swatting away a fly.

Technically: 

Light and Strong are to do with Weight and the intensity of a movement.

Direct and Flexible are to do with Space and how you move in it.

Sustained and Broken are to do with Time or speed of a movement.

We applied these movements which helped us to learn how the subtext of your actions or the actions behind the lines in a play, can help to move the action along and carry the story.

We applied this to our own lines in the play. I volunteered to share my line, which was,

"Sorry , to interrupt -oops- I'm Shannon, I've been watching the other speeches - thought I'd come down and see for myself."

This line I thought was Light, Direct and Broken, so has a Dabbing feel to it. This helped me to really see deeper into my character and see how she would react and speak to people and what kind of thing she might be thinking as she speaks etc.

We then did this to the rest of our lines in the play and heard other people's examples. In one scene, the only word I have is, "Yeah" so this exercise it a perfect way for me to put some meaning behind the lines and figure out what she is really saying. It was a very helpful exercise, but very tiring at the same time!

What Makes A Good Improvisation?

These are some things that will make a good improvisation:

- Always say "yes" - this will allow you and your partner to keep an entertaining scene to keep going and not become circular or become boring for the audience.

- Go with whatever you're given - feed off the other person and anything they say can be taken as a suggestion of their character or might give you something to work off, so make sure you respond to anything.

- Respond appropriately to things - do not break character and start laughing. Stay in the scene and control your emotions, so you are able to keep the scene going and the energy right, which will work for the audience.

- LISTEN - listening is the most important part of a good improvisation. Listening to what your partner is saying and taking all of the details or ideas that they give you. 

Save some information - remember what they tell you and use it back to them. Repeating facts will make your scene become more believable.

Mike Alfreds

We looked at Mike Alfreds as our first practitioner in Acting Technique. Mike Alfreds specialises in improvisation as a directing technique. We did many different exercises to explore this idea further.

For example: The first exercise we did was an improvisation exercise. We sat in pairs and Tim gave us a situation, e.g. we are step-siblings on a train station and our train is delayed. We had to make our character's emotions and opinions and really listen to the other person's actions to be able to react and respond appropriately because anything could happen in the scene.

After this, we then did a clap change improvisation exercise, every time Tim clapped, we had to change our physicality to something different. e.g. standing, squatting, lying down etc. When Tim said "Go" we had to start a scene. It was hard because one of you had to just launch into it, which was difficult, as the other person had to be open to going with whatever ideas were thrown at them.

We did this a few times, there were difficulties with this task, such as having to listen really carefully to each other and making sure that the scene just loops and nothing happens. It can become boring and repetitive, so throw something new in the scene. Give your partner something to bounce off and bring the energy to the scene.

We then did an exercise where one of us left the room and the other person had to think of a situation and when the other person entered the room, they had to find out who they were, where they were and what their relationship to the other character was. This was hard, because when you first enter the room, you don't know what to expect. It was tricky for me because Tim said to let them make the first move, however Nora didn't look at me, so I had to go over to her and because she was playing a socially awkward character at a party, I had to really dig to find out where we were, who's party it was, how I knew her and the host. It was very difficult, but I feel like I still managed to figure it out.

We then had to do an exercise that involved one person miming doing something for someone. Some people acted out nice things, such as wrapping presents etc. Nora acted out getting a paint gun and filling it with paint pellets. We had to guess what our partner was doing and really watch them. We then swapped and we had to act out any action that has a routine to it. Something you can do the same repeatedly, so I did putting on make-up in the morning. We did this to develop our miming skills and allow us to be able to interpret actions in a different way and be able to make it really clear to the audience, exactly what it is we're doing.

It was a helpful lesson, where I learnt many new improvisation techniques and what it takes to perform a good piece of improvisation and make it very clear to the audience what you're doing, but being able to control your emotions, such as - not laughing or not being sure of what to say and panicking on stage, because it will not make your scene believable.