OBJECTIVE:
Students will demonstrate their ability to move in character by creating blocking and business for their monologue/scene.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
None
HOOK:
Have some students who feel confident in their piece come up and perform. Give them a body position to speak their speech in (place their bodies in a pose that they have to hold and can’t move out of).
Talk with the performers about the situation you thrust them into. How difficult was it to act without moving? What could have made the whole activity easier and more natural? What did the audience students observe? What ideas or suggestions do they have for natural blocking movement in the scene? How important is natural, motivated blocking to a performance? What have students done in the past for performances to create natural blocking?
To give students another idea to begin blocking their performance pieces, call up a scene group and have them sit knee-to-knee facing each other – their kneecaps should be touching and they should be looking straight into each other's eyes. Have them 'perform' their scene without moving their knees and without looking away from the other's eyes.
What did students observe from the performers this time? What ideas for movement do the audience students have? Highlight any impulse you may have seen one of the performers stifle. Now have the students start the scene over, again from the knee-to-knee position, but this time allow them to move as the impulse strikes them. They can use the suggestions offered earlier by other students or follow their own ideas as they go. After the second performance, discuss with the class the difference between the two performances.
Encourage the students to thrust themselves out of their comfort zone in order to have creative, motivated blocking. They should be exploring several different ideas in business and blocking because it is seldom their first idea or impulse that is the best idea; more often it is their five or sixth idea that really works the best for the scene or monologue.
If time allows, play briefly with Laban’s movements to allow students to explore different ways to move (that of course fit their character’s style and physicality):
- Space: Direct / Indirect
- Weight: Strong / Light
- Time: Sudden / Sustained
EFFORT | TIME | DIRECTION | DEGREE of WEIGHT |
FLOAT | Sustained | Flexible | Light |
SLASH | Sudden | Flexible | Heavy |
GLIDE | Sustained | Direct | Light |
WRING | Sustained | Flexible | Heavy |
DAB | Sudden | Direct | Light |
THRUST | Sudden | Direct | Heavy |
FLICK | Sudden | Flexible | Light |
PRESS | Sustained | Direct | Heavy |
Pull out a few random prop pieces (handkerchief, notebook, sword, tea cup, book, flower basket, blanket, etc.) and have students react to them: how can they be utilized and what would they convey about a character or situation? Assign students to find at least one prop for their performance and discover different ways to utilize that prop as business.
Assign the students to create the business and blocking of the monologue or scene. They need to draw out the floorplan of the setting of their performance and label any furniture props they may be using. Then they should coordinate their blocking around those pieces. They should explore many different ways to block the piece following their impulses until they find the best movement for each particular moment. Float around the classroom and give ideas and encouragement to the students as they work on their performance pieces.
ASSESSMENT:
Students can be assessed on their floorplan and blocking creation during rehearsal time.