Lesson 4: Energy

Objective

● Students will be able to communicate meaning using energy in movement by performing scenes that utilize Lecoq’s seven levels of tension.

Standards

● Utah
○ Standard 7-8.T.P.4 - Communicate meaning using the body through space,

shape, energy, and gesture. ● National

• ○  TH:Cr3.1.7.b. Develop effective physical and vocal traits of characters in an improvised or scripted drama/theatre work.
• ○  TH:Pr4.1.6.b. Experiment with various physical choices to communicate character in a drama/theatre work.
• ○  TH:Pr6.1.8.a. Perform a rehearsed drama/theatre work for an audience.

Sources
● 7 Levels of Tension

Materials needed

● Empty space to move

Warm-up

● Board Question
○ What gives you energy?

• ●  Body Warm-Up

• ●  Challenge Review

  Hook

• ●  Energy Growing Game

○ Tell them to come up with a sound and a movement, like a poke while

saying “boop.” I will be counting from 1-10. They should start by doing the thing with really low energy at level 1 and really high energy at level 10, growing as I count. They will stay on mute for this.

Instruction

● Discussion
○ What gives you more energy? What gives you less energy?

• ○  How can you tell when someone has more or less energy based on their body movements?

  ● Lecoq

  

• ○  Athlete - running, swimming, and gymnastics
• ○  Eventually linked sports to theatre and did mimes and clowns
• ○  Came up with 7 levels of energy

● 7 Levels of Tension
○ Watch the video with them (nice because it has examples for them to see

what each level is like). Pause after each energy level description. Tell them he’s going to ask them to do activities, but you want them to watch the whole description of the energy level before they do it so they don’t miss the examples. So wait until I pause, then I’ll give them time to practice with my own side coaching (as below). For each level, have the students walk around their space and practice what their movement might look like within that level of energy. Ground rule is to always be situationally aware. You don’t have to RUN to show you have energy.

• Exhausted or catatonic. The Jellyfish. There is no tension in the body at all. Begin in a complete state of relaxation. If you have to move or speak, it is a real effort. See what happens when you try to speak.
• Laid back – the “Californian” (soap opera). Many people live at this level of tension. Everything you say is cool, relaxed, probably lacking in credibility. The casual throw-away line – “I think I’ll go to bed now”.
• Neutral or the “Economic” (contemporary dance). It is what it is. There is nothing more, nothing less. The right amount. No past or

future. You are totally present and aware. It is the state of tension before something happens. Think of a cat sitting comfortably on a wall, ready to leap up if a bird comes near. You move with no story behind your movement.

• Alert or Curious (farce). Look at things. Sit down. Stand up. Indecision. Think M. Hulot (Jacques Tati) or Mr Bean. Levels 1 – 4 are our everyday states.
• Suspense or the Reactive (19th century melodrama). Is there a bomb in the room? The crisis is about to happen. All the tension is in the body, concentrated between the eyes. An inbreath. There’s a delay to your reaction. The body reacts. John Cleese.
• Passionate (opera). There is a bomb in the room. The tension has exploded out of the body. Anger, fear, hilarity, despair. It’s difficult to control. You walk into a room and there is a lion sitting there. There is a snake in the shower.
• Tragic (end of King Lear when Lear is holding Cordelia in his arms). The bomb is about to go off! Body can’t move. Petrified. The body is solid tension.

○ Pause before “The Assignment” portion of video
■ Then start yelling out different levels and having them change the

energy levels as they are moving in their space.

• ●  Discussion (in partners)

  • ○  When are times in your life when you’ve been at these different levels of energy?
  • ○  How long can you be at certain levels of energy?

  • ○  Think about something you do every single day. Eating breakfast, brushing

    teeth, hanging out with friends, football practice, being in class, etc. What

    level of energy are you at with that thing?

• ●  Watch “The Assignment” portion of video

  • ○  Tell them that they will not have to record what they do, but instead, we will perform the assignment for each other (performing a simple household task at all levels of energy).

  • ○  If short on time, ask them to choose just THREE of the levels of energy to perform the task.

    Practice

    ● Rehearsal

○ Give them 5-10 minutes to choose a household task and practice doing it at

different levels of energy, as detailed above.

Assessment

• ●  Performance - Showcase their household tasks.

• ●  Submit a grade in “energy” on a scale of 1 (below standard) to 4 (advanced).

  Challenge

● Keep track of where your energy levels are throughout the day. Come back next time prepared to share where you think you mostly live and what makes your energy levels raise or lower.