Exercises for memory of physical actions. Acting lesson notes
Theater sketch
An actor must not only have a full-fledged embodiment apparatus, but also constantly improve it. However, in order to improve the apparatus of embodiment, you need to know its capabilities, the laws of control of this apparatus, the laws of movement on stage.
One of the ways to find out the capabilities of your “embodiment apparatus” can be a sketch.
A theatrical sketch is an exercise for developing acting technique. Sketches are a necessary element in acting classes. They can be different in content, style, tasks, and complexity. With the help of acting sketches, beginners are taught how to build a story, work on themselves, as well as with a partner.
The task of etudes is to teach the actor to work not only in unexpected conditions, for example, if on stage the actor or his partner forgot the text or another unforeseen situation occurs, then the actor must not get confused, but quickly pick up, by action or word, the scene, but also in the proposed circumstances. In this sketch, the actor learns to sense space and see his partner. Also, through improvisational practice, you can learn about your abilities and shortcomings in acting on stage.
An etude is an end-to-end, continuous improvisational test by an actor of proposed circumstances and an event situation, or the actor’s action in a proposed (invented, composed or reproduced from memory) event situation.
Etude - (French etude - lit. - study). In modern theater pedagogy an exercise used to develop and improve acting technique. Consists of various stage actions, improvised or previously developed by the teacher.
IN educational process sketch is:
- - a means of “remembering life” and creating the truth based on this stage life; theatrical sketch of an actor
- - a means of comprehending the creative laws of organic nature and techniques of psychotechnics;
- - a learning tool (comprehension of the basics of the profession: immersion in the proposed circumstances, mastering the concept of “action” and event);
- - a means of demonstrating creative initiative and independence.
An etude is an independent search for an effective line of behavior in given (invented) circumstances.
A stage sketch is an eventful, complete segment of the life of the character(s), created on the basis life experience and the actor's observations, reworked by him creative imagination and presented, or acted, or shown in a stage setting.
A stage sketch from an improvisational sketch presupposes the presence of a director's plan aimed at realizing the super-task of a creative display, whereas with an improvisational test there is no such task. And in this respect, an actor working on a sketch ceases to be just a performer, but becomes a full-fledged author and creator - the director of his role. In this concept, “stage sketch” is close to the concept of “dramatic scene”.
The sequence of events of the sketch, its “turning points” are determined and recorded - the initial, central and main events of the sketch are determined, as well as the goal of the character. As for the rest, the actor can and should improvise. And here lies the fundamental difference stage sketch from a sketch test. Since in a test nothing is invented in advance - on the contrary, everything must be born directly in the test itself - improvisation - I throw myself into the circumstances, and in the course of the action I justify them, that is, I instantly create actions and tasks towards which my behavior is aimed.
Based on the understanding of the sketch as a place of undivided creativity of the actor and his constant improvisation in circumstances without recording actions and events acting school V. M. Filshtinsky. In his understanding, the “truth of life” of an actor on stage is valuable in itself, and therefore the actor, improvising, following the inner sense of truth, can absolutely legally change the course of events without fixing it and never repeating himself in his stage behavior.
The school of Z. Ya. Korogodsky teaches the actor, first of all, to tell a story that happens to the characters, and this story is the change and development of events flowing into each other, and therefore the definition of the sequence of events both in the etude and in the subsequent play is fundamental. And the “truth of life” of an actor in stage conditions is an important, but nevertheless, means of telling a story, a means that helps the viewer penetrate deeper into the essence of the story through emotional empathy for the characters.
Study in theater school or in a rehearsal - always a small segment of stage life, created by the imagination, “if only,” which is fed by experience, a stock of observations, and the living feeling of the performer. A sketch is, first of all, an event episode. The main thing in it, building the stage process according to the laws and patterns of life (in the most extravagant theatrical solutions), is to recreate the movement of events. From this sketch the idea of analyzing the play by events was born. Their flow is the movement of life from incident to incident. An event, taken separately and played by us, becomes a sketch.
The sources or material for composing a sketch are the actor’s own event experience, his life event observations, the work of his creative imagination and consciousness, inspired by a super task - a certain idea, theme, thought that the actor or director wants to convey to the viewer with the help of a stage sketch.
Laws of sketch construction
A stage sketch has certain laws of construction:
Entering the stage Leaving the stage
Central event
A place for improvisation
Original event Main event
The fact that prompted me The fact that prompted me to go on stage to leave the stage
Fact - an action, the influence of external or internal circumstances that forced me to change my previous behavior
Above is a diagram of the construction of a single etude, where there is no premise, climax and denouement dramatic conflict, which takes place in paired and group studies.
The initial event and the main event are motivated and justified exits and exits from the stage. Something happened before I went on stage that caused me to find myself in certain proposed circumstances, and I had a certain task that I need to complete “right here and now” (on stage area). And similarly, something happened that made me leave this place.
The central event is a certain fact, or external or internal circumstance, or the action of a partner, which changed my behavior and qualitatively influenced my psychophysical well-being and emotional condition.
It often happens that the central and main event of an etude coincide - that is, something happens on stage, and it was the central turn of events that became the reason that I need to finish or interrupt the previous action and leave.
Types of training etudes
- · A study on a familiar matter (a study with imaginary objects). This is the first sketch task. In sketches, faith, continuity and consistency of the line of physical life are especially important. After completing the exercise and showing the work on a familiar case, it turns out that this is actually a played sketch.
- · Study on musical moment(by using musical phrase or phonograms, awakens in the student the ability to fantasize and experience the life circumstances from which this phrase follows)
- · Three words: letter, fire, water (the task is to fanatize circumstances in which three proposed words are organically woven into a single action, and these words are not pronounced, but rather played out)
- · “For the first time in my life” provokes acute, personal, exciting circumstances
- · "Incredible event"
- · Etude “Silently Together” (a study task that does not allow talking. It gives a strong impetus to mastering communication skills and interaction with a partner. In addition, it leads to the next series of studies on the organic emergence and birth of a word)
- · ^ Study on the birth of a word (adequate behavior gives birth to an adequate word in a situation. After all, a word is not born on its own, but depending on a particular fact or event).
- · Study on the "chain" physical actions" based literary material
- · Observation sketch (wordless, with text) (based on the “Observation” exercise)
- · Sketches for a specific (specified event)
- · Sketches based on fables.
Currently ancient art pantomime is experiencing a new rise in attention to the ability to express events and feelings - pose, gesture, facial expressions. At its core, pantomime has become the art of saying a lot without saying a word.
Pantomime actors paint non-existent pictures, jump on an imaginary jump rope, drink ghostly scalding coffee, and try to climb into a window that doesn’t exist.
The training of a pantomime actor is very similar in its basics to Stanislavsky’s system for training a dramatic actor. Any actor needs to know acting skills: develop attention and imagination, learn observation and rhythm, understand the interaction of partners, work on images, and be able to transform. The basics are based on working with non-existent objects and memory exercises for physical actions.
Exercises for memory of physical actions
1. Training the volume and shape of a non-existent object
You need to start your classes by learning how to manipulate real things!
Take a bottle or jar, unscrew the cap and close it tightly again. Repeat, carefully observing, all the movements of your left hand and fingers, remembering at what angle the hand is in relation to the body, to the object. Then concentrate all your attention on your right hand, remember the movement of each finger. Don't miss any of the smallest details.
Set the item aside. Play all the movements in order.
Take the bottle again.
Repeat the work as many times as possible until you achieve scrupulous accuracy.
By carefully, accurately, scrupulously, and most importantly by patiently repeating the work with non-existent objects, you can achieve naturalness.
Beware- laziness and approximateness. Looks like doesn't mean natural. The bottle becomes narrower, then expands, the fingers of the right hand twist the cap, now higher, now lower.
Beware- muscle tension, stiffness of movements.
Take it into service– sincere belief in what you are doing. Remember your childhood, yourself as a child, or spy on the children on the playground. Faith allows you to make a boat out of chairs, fly on a sofa like an airplane, and feed painted animals. Remember that an actor on stage without the ability to see and believe is completely helpless and insincere.
2. Action limit
Plug an imaginary plug into an imaginary socket or insert an illusory key into an illusory lock.
Pay attention to the path taken by the object. Coincidences in the movement towards the goal. Find the final point - the goal of the path, the limit of movement beyond which it is impossible to continue. This requires increased concentration
3. Item weight
The weight of an imaginary matchbox is very different from the weight of a non-existent pot of soup, and even more so from a 24-kilogram weight. Each type of gravity causes a contraction various groups muscles, and this determines the position of the human body.
Classes must be conducted with real objects. Start with a teapot. Take it. Pay attention to the position of all parts of the body, the condition of all muscle groups: face, neck, chest, arms, legs. Feel the sensations of the hand holding the teapot, the force of tension.
Grab an imaginary teapot. Feel it, try to convey its weight and movement.
Pour out half the water. Take an empty teapot.
It is especially important to work on the moment of tearing objects away from the surface: table, floor, shelf. The opposite point is also important - returning to place. Focus on the moment you apply the force.
Advice from Your Scene: Record your exercises on video and show them to other people. When an unprepared person can understand the meaning of your actions, only then can you say with confidence that you have completed this exercise.
Watch a useful video from classes in the studio Your Scene - sketches for memory of physical actions
In general, for both adults and children, practicing pantomime combines several advantages.
First, a person learns to master own body, becomes more relaxed and self-confident.
A person who controls his body trusts himself more - not only the ability to express thoughts through facial expressions and movements changes, his posture and gait become more beautiful, he gains confidence in his actions and words, and therefore in himself.
Secondly, pantomime develops and trains attention and imagination.
In the process of creativity, a person becomes the author of an idea, finds a way to implement it, and realizes his plans himself.
Venera Zonova
Lesson notes on acting“Mastering acting skills and abilities with the help of theatrical sketches”
Municipal budgetary educational institution
additional education "Home children's creativity "Friendly" urban district of the city of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan
Subject: «
Metolist, additional teacher
education Zonova V.F.
Acting lesson notes
Subject: « Mastering acting skills and abilities through theatrical sketches »
Children's age: 9-10 years
Year of study:1 year of study
Target: Mastering acting skills through theatrical sketches and exercises to relieve muscle tension
Tasks:
Educational:
« Theater sketch» ,
theatrical sketches.
Developmental:
sketches;
Develop imagination
Educational:
Shape teamwork skills.
Shape KTD skills;
Vaccinate skills interaction with a partner;
Expected results:
sketches for further
expressiveness
Feel
Teaching methods:
Verbal (teacher's word, explanation)
Visual (presentation)
Task variability
Teamwork
Practical
Educational technologies:
Personality-oriented;
- game training:
Collective creative work
Form of organization classes
Equipment
Duration classes sketches
Plan classes
1. Organizational part
occupation
Emotional mood
2. Main part.
Announcement of the topic classes, consisting of two sections
2) Theater sketches
3. Practical part
Practical work on theatrical sketches;
4. Final part
Bottom line classes
5. Reflection
What did you especially like about class?
Assessment of children's activities
Progress of the lesson
1. Organizational part
Greetings. Organizing time
Target: set up students for productive work on the topic, find out the emotional state of students before starting classes
Exercise-game "Hello".
The teacher greets the students, showing some state: joy, sadness, surprise, resentment, anger, suspicion, gloating, goodwill.
The students greet the teacher according to the mood with which they came to class, trying to convey the emotional state as accurately as possible.
Teacher's question: What are emotions?
Expected answers from students: manifestation of feelings, experiences.
2. Main part. Announcement of the topic classes
First section “Exercises to relieve mental and physical pressures”
Target: Expand the child's capabilities. Teach your child to relieve stress separate groups muscles and the whole body with with help various rhythmoplastic theatrical exercises and games.
Exercise 1 "Palm"
Students should stand up straight and focus their attention on their left hand, straining it to the maximum possible extent. After a few seconds, you need to relieve tension and relax your hand. Similar exercises should be done with the right arm, both legs, neck, and lower back.
Exercise 2 "Clamps in a circle"
Participants walk in a circle and, at the teacher’s command, tense their right arm, right leg, left hand, left leg, lower back, both legs, whole body. The tension in a given area of the body should be weak at first and gradually increase to the limit. In a state of extreme tension, participants must walk for 15-20 seconds, then, at the teacher’s command, they must completely release the tension, that is, relax the entire tense area of the body.
Exercise 3 (slides of animals, small children)
For the next exercise, try to determine where your center of gravity is. Move, jump, crawl, stand, sit. Then imagine that you have become a cat. Now you need to find the center of gravity of the cat’s body, that is, move like a cat. Where is the cat's center of gravity? Where is the center of gravity of a bird jumping on the ground? Be a bird. Then draw any other animals. Then imagine yourself as a small child, copy his movements, but do not constrain your movements. Small children and animals are the most best example lack of muscle tension. Try to remember your sensations and feeling of lightness during the absence of clamps.
Exercise 4 (puppet slides)
To do this exercise, imagine that you are a puppet hanging on a nail in the closet after a performance. First, imagine that you were hung by the neck, then by the arm, by the ear, by the finger, by the shoulder, and the like. In this case, your body is fixed at one point, and everything else dangles relaxed. The exercise is performed at an arbitrary pace. Can be performed even with your eyes closed.
Exercise 5
This exercise requires a partner, which is also in a good way to establish psychological contact. We need to face each other. Your partner should make slow movements, and you should become his mirror image, that is, accurately copy all his movements. At the first stages of performing the exercise, you can agree not to do several movements at once, do simple moves without facial expressions, perform movements very slowly. Then switch roles with your partner. This is an exercise in a short time helps learn to feel your partner’s body, understand the logic of his movements. After some time, you will even be able to anticipate and get ahead of your partner’s actions.
Exercise 6
Start walking calmly around the room. At a signal, you need to throw your body into a position that is unexpected for you and freeze in it for a while. Then release and continue the action from your pose. Look for those actions that correspond exactly to the position of your body in which you are frozen, only this position and no other. Try to understand what you are doing, why you chose this or that action.
Exercise 7 (slides with images of people in various poses with different expressions faces, gestures and facial expressions)
This exercise sharpens the movements and helps develop visual memory. To complete it, you should select in advance several dozen photographs or postcards with reproductions of paintings, sculptures, frames from films, images of people in various poses. Then show them on the slides for a minute and remember who is depicted on them, with what facial expression and in what pose. Then remove the slide, and the students must repeat all these poses sequentially. You need to try to remember down to the smallest detail the mood, facial expressions, gestures, who you were talking to, what the people depicted in the photo were holding in their hands.
Exercise 8
To perform this exercise, you need to imagine that you are in an awkward or funny situation. For example, you fell out of the blue, spilled juice on yourself, broke someone else’s vase, got scared of a tiny dog, etc. Now try to portray your natural reaction to what happened, without specifically thinking through your movements. And then show your thoughtful reaction. Think about how you would behave in this situation in order to get out of the situation with dignity. What would you say, what would your posture, facial expressions and gestures be like? You may have several solutions to get out of this situation. Play them all. This will be useful for the future. Who knows what kind of situation you might find yourself in, but a decent way out of a predicament will always keep you on top.
Second section « Theater eteds»
So, we have smoothly prepared for the next section of our classes This is very difficult, but surprisingly interesting subject: « Etude» .
Question: what do you already know about theatrical sketches? Children's answers.
Right, etude is a small story played out on stage.
Question: What is the difference sketch from the exercise? Children's answers.
Etude - exercise, which has content. It can last thirty seconds or half an hour, this is not important, what is more important is whether it has vital content...
Any actions in life are performed naturally and justifiably. We don’t think about how I, for example, pick up a fallen pencil or put a toy in its place. Doing the same thing on stage with an audience watching you is not so easy.
To be natural, you need to find answers to the questions why, why, why am I doing this?
IN sketches we use facial expressions, gestures, figurative speech, body plasticity.
Theater sketches have their own rules and composition.
The sketch consists of:
1. Ties (introduction to character, place and conditions);
2. Events;
3. Climaxes (highest emotional point sketch) ;
4. Interchanges (outcome, resolution of the situation).
Question: Which sketches Have we already done this? Answers children:
Plastic,
For memory of physical actions.
There are actually a lot of types sketches.
sketches for transformation
To interact with stage objects;
sketches for a specific event;
sketches on the logic and sequence of actions and feelings;
Today we will meet new species:
sketches to show emotions;
sketches based literary work;
sketches on artistic imagination;
Pay attention to the image of cats and mice on my screen. Each has its own character, your habits. Who has cats, mice, hamsters at home? This means you know firsthand how your pets behave. So much the better, because you get to know new species sketches and we will understand all the intricacies today cats and mice will help. That's what we'll call ours class"Cat and Mouse". So, let's go...
3. Practical part "Work on sketches»
1)First etude to show emotions; To do this, I invite you all to stand in a circle.
Early morning. The mice are sleeping. Show how they put their palms under their cheeks, closed their eyes and snored peacefully.
It's time, mice, to wake up! They opened their eyes, and it was raining outside. I will read a poem, and you show all the emotions and gestures of the mice.
At first they were surprised, then deeply indignant.
We were offended, but not at all. They turned away with offense
Like a mouse on a rump, everyone pouted. And suddenly everyone became sad.
Sad shoulders drooped, a sad evening in the eyes.
And the tears are about to flow. But here a ray of sunshine stealthily
It slid gently across your cheek. And everything lit up around.
Everyone smiled with joy. It was as if everyone had woken up from a dream.
They jumped and screamed: Hooray! Hooray!
(E. Alyabyeva.)
lose twice with different composition children.
Guys, what emotions did you show with your facial expressions and gestures? (surprise, insult, sadness, joy).
As you understand, this expression “Like a mouse on a grain, everyone is pouting”? (this means to be offended for no reason). Imagine that a mouse is offended by the cereal it is eating. It's stupid, right? So sometimes you get offended, but you don’t know why.
2) Next etude based on a literary work. I will read the text to you, and your task is to act out the proposed story as closely as possible to the text. (choose a cat and mice 6-7 people).
There lived a cat Vasily. The cat was lazy!
Sharp teeth and a fat belly.
He always walked very quietly.
Loudly and insistently asked to eat,
Yes, I snored a little more quietly on the stove -
That's all he knew how to do.
A cat once had a dream like this:
It was as if he had started a fight with mice.
Screaming loudly, he scratched them all
With your teeth, your clawed paw.
The mice are quiet here in fear begged:
Oh, have pity, have mercy, do mercy!
Then he exclaimed a little louder cat: "Scram!"
And they scattered.
(And in fact, while our Vasily was sleeping, this is what happened)
The mice quietly came out of the hole,
Crunching loudly, they ate the bread crusts,
Then, a little more quietly, laughing at the cat,
They tied his tail with a bow.
Vasily woke up, suddenly sneezed loudly,
He turned to the wall and fell asleep again.
And the mice climbed onto the back of the lazy man,
They made fun of him loudly until the evening.
Discussion of completed sketch, using visual material, what worked, what didn’t work, why.
3)Next etude for a specific specified event "Cat and Mice". Here the task of the mice is to eat sour cream. To do this, the mice take a risk - they need to pass by the cat.
I invite 5 children, one plays a cat, the rest mice.
Discussion of what was played sketch using visual material.
4. Final part. Summarizing
5. Reflection.
Expressing impressions by the teacher, encouraging children.
1) So, we met on class with three new types theatrical sketches. Which ones? (children's answers). Did you enjoy playing sketches? What was the most difficult thing? What did you do while working on sketches, and what not? What did not cause difficulties?
2) Very soon we will return to sketches, on subsequent classes during preparation theatrical holidays, and now I’ll ask you to stand in a circle, I want to thank you for your beautiful creative work, I will give you each a little surprise
Today you tried yourself as an actor, I think you succeeded.
The game is an exercise in expressing emotions "Goodbye".
All the best!
Introspection classes
On this topic: « Mastering acting skills through theatrical sketches and exercises to relieve muscle tension"
Children's age: 9-10 years
Year of study:1 year of study
Target: Mastering acting skills through theatrical sketches and exercises to relieve muscle tension
Tasks:
Educational:
Provide basic theoretical knowledge on the topic “Relieving muscle tension throughout the body”;- teach exercises to relieve muscle tension;- provide basic theoretical knowledge on the topic « Theater sketch» ,
Introduce new species theatrical sketches.
Developmental:
Develop the ability to transform through creation sketches;
Develop imagination (ability for plastic improvisation)
Develop physical abilities body, through muscle relaxation training; develop acting skills through work on sketches.
Educational:
Shape teamwork skills.
Creating an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual trust.
Shape KTD skills;
Vaccinate skills interaction with a partner;
Expected results:
Creating a creative atmosphere
Development individual abilities students to
transformation through work on sketches for further
use when working on a role.
Students will learn to connect life observations with their own
individual experience, analyze and build into stage
conditions, sequence and logic of actions.
Students will learn to relieve tension alternately from the muscles of the arms, legs,
neck, body. Remove clamps and tension from body parts.
Students will learn to train faith, imagination and plastic
expressiveness
Students can evaluate own capabilities, express your
Feel
Teaching methods:
Verbal (teacher's word, explanation)
Visual (presentation)
Task variability
Teamwork
Partially exploratory creative
Practical (exercises performed by children)
Educational technologies:
Personality-oriented;
- game training:
Collective creative work
Form of organization classes: group, pair, individual
Equipment: music Center, multimedia.
Duration classes 45 minutes depending on the difficulty of the exercises and sketches
Plan classes
1. Organizational part
Greetings. Organizational moment Checking readiness for occupation
Emotional mood
2. Main part.
Announcement of the topic classes, consisting of two sections
1) Exercises to relieve muscle tension
2) Theater sketches
3. Practical part
Practical work on exercises to relieve muscle tension;
Practical work on theatrical sketches;
Independent teamwork in groups;
Monitoring compliance with creative tasks.
4. Final part
Bottom line classes
5. Reflection
What were the difficulties while doing the work?
What did you especially like about class?
Assessment of children's activities
DEVELOPING A SENSE OF TRUTH AND FAITH
These exercises consist of, without having any objects in your hands, feeling them only with the help of your imagination, to perform physical actions in the same way as if these objects were in your hands.
For example, if you do not have a water tap, soap or towels, wash your hands and dry them with a towel; sew without having a needle or fabric in your hands; smoking without a cigarette or matches; clean shoes without having shoes, brush, polish, etc. in your hands.
When you look at well-executed pointless actions, you completely believe that this is exactly how the people performing them sew,
Page 90
they light a cigarette, etc., you see how accurately they feel the non-existent objects in their hands. K. S. Stanislavsky considers physical actions with a “dummy” to be the same daily exercises necessary for a dramatic actor as vocalises for a singer, scales for a violinist, etc.
“You can get the right feeling of well-being in the simplest, non-objective action (K.S. asks the exercise to write a letter without paper, ink and pen)...
Let's take this sketch: you have to write something on paper. Here you are looking for a pen and paper. All this needs to be done logically, without rushing. We found the paper. It’s not so easy to pick up paper; you have to feel how the paper is taken (points with fingers). You have to think about how you place it on your hand. It may slip off on you. The first time you do it slowly. You must know what it means to dip a pen. Do you understand the logic? So you shook off the pen, on which a drop of ink remained. You start writing. The simplest action. Finished. They put the pen down, blotted the paper, or shook it in the air. Here your imagination should tell you what to do in such cases, but only to the last degree of truth. You need to be able to master these little truths, because big truth you will never find without them. On this small point, right-
Page 91
Yes, you feel the real truth. Your truth is in the logic of your most insignificant actions... You yourself need to feel that this is logical. This simple little action brings you closer to the truth."
In life, we do not remember the details of various small actions, because we do them habitually, mechanically. If we begin to act pointlessly from memory, and then perform the same action with a real object, then we will see what a large number of we missed the details, just as we didn’t feel the object in our hands, its weight, shape, details. Therefore, at first, students are asked to take some very simple, non-objective action. For example: light a match by taking it out of the box; tie a tie; thread a needle; pour water from the carafe into a glass, etc.
You need to work on these exercises at home: first do the exercise with real objects, then without objects, then repeat again with objects. This needs to be repeated several times, checking the sensations in order to remember with your muscles what it means to take an object, put it down, hang it up, take it off, etc.
1 K. S. Stanislavsky, Articles, speeches, conversations, letters, M., “Iskusstvo”, 1953, p. 657.
Page 92
Students show results in lessons homework. We make comments and corrections. For example, while sewing, a student feels the needle and thread well, but sews in one place and the material does not move. In another case, the practitioner tried to perform a pointless action as quickly as in life, skipping details: putting on a glove - good, taking it off - bad, his hand is dead; takes off his galosh - does not pull his foot out of it; pours water - does not close the tap; smokes - does not feel the taste of cigarettes; eats - does not feel the taste of food, etc. We point out to him the need to initially do everything slower than in life, we instill a taste for to the smallest details physical action. The hardest thing is lifting weights. These exercises need to be practiced especially carefully.
The emergence of a sense of truth is greatly helped by accidents that often occur during the preparation of an exercise. For example, while sewing, a spool of thread fell and unwound. The participant in the exercise picked it up and wound the thread again. If this accident is fixed, it will enhance the exercise.
Exercises with different justifications can be done in different rhythms. For example: I sew when I have a lot of time; I sew when I'm in a hurry.
Page 93
(List of exercises for memory of physical actions performed in different time, attached, pp. 96, 97.)
In addition to single actions, paired actions are also interesting: sawing wood; rowing a boat; unwind the fire hose; pump the pump; forge, etc.
Knowing that we encourage creative initiative in every possible way, students theater school In one course, on their own initiative, they prepared the entire test on the memory of physical actions. Pointless actions were combined into one general sketch, “Preparing for the New Year’s Eve in a student dormitory.” It started with sawing wood. Two students were sawing non-existent firewood with a non-existent saw, but the real sounds of sawing and falling logs accompanied the action. The scoring accurately matched all the smallest details of the saw, from the first scratch of the surface of the log to the crack of the log breaking off. Next, the sound was made of chopping a torch, tearing paper, lighting matches, etc. In preparation for the New Year, students changed into non-existent dresses, decorated a non-existent Christmas tree, set the table, opened non-existent canned food, wine, put out fruits, candies, etc. Exercises for memory of physical actions were combined with exercises for the speed of permutations. For a minute
Page 94
the curtain closed, then opened - and a stove was burning on the stage, a real decorated Christmas tree was shining with lights, there was a set table with those very real objects that were absent from the pointless actions. The entire course sat at the table and greeted the twelfth strike of the clock with raised glasses.
In well-practiced non-objective actions, we check how much the person performing the exercise has mastered his attention and keeps it on the object, felt what muscle freedom is (that is, he makes exactly as much effort as is necessary for of this action), how his imagination works, how he justifies the proposed circumstances, how much he believes in the truth of his action and feels its logic.
On stage, actors have to drink from glasses that do not contain wine, read unwritten texts of letters, smell paper flowers, carry weights that are not heavy, handle hot irons that are not hot - in a word, deal with a number of prop objects. It happens that on stage letters are written too quickly, glasses are waved so that wine should spill out of them, money is paid without being counted, wine is poured into a glass in one fell swoop, etc. Exercises with a “pacifier” help to find the truth in dealing with fake items.
Page 95
EXERCISES ON MEMORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIONS PERFORMED AT DIFFERENT TIMES
Preparing minced meat for dumplings
Combing
Repairing electrical plugs (burnt out)
Wallpapering a room
Sealing a window for the winter
Wall newspaper design
Ironing
Laundry
Inflating a bicycle wheel
Drawing drawing
Refilling a kerosene lamp
Preparing the dough
Undressing and swimming in the river
Drawing a picture oil paints
Translation of a design for embroidery
Watch repair
Kindling the stove
Preparing for breakfast
Joinery
Radiotelegraph operator
Hanging a curtain
Refilling the sewing machine
Cleaning a double-barreled shotgun
Fishing
Shredding cabbage
Hanging laundry
Samovar (pours water, sets it down)
Bandaging the hand
Making the bed
Typing
Sewing on a machine
Harnessing horses
Washing in the shower
Preparing the parcel
Lacing boots
Violin tuning
Cleaning herring
Unwinding wool
Replanting flowers
Opening Canned Food
Feeding chickens
Stringing beads
Washing dishes
Wig perm
Removing a car wheel
Printing a photo
Room cleaning
Page 96
Dismantling the bike, Getting ready for the evening, Cutting a dress, Dismantling a pen,
Wall clock repair, Fabric dyeing, Hair cutting, Stick cutting
Whip weaving
Making soup
Cooking shish kebab on a fire
Plastering the wall Harvest Knitting Crossing the stream
Putting on a dress
Floor cleaning
Setting the table
Clay crafting
Untying the box
with sweets
Cooking jam
Drinking tea
Getting water from a well
Book binding
Vacuuming
Peeling potatoes
Unpacking the parcel
There is another exercise that is close to pointless actions - stage wrestling. Real wrestling on stage is uninteresting and goes beyond art because of its naturalism. Stage wrestling consists of the actor guessing the strength and direction of the physical action of his partner, who only gives a hint of the action, and real strength does not apply, and plays out this force and direction of physical action. For example, I’m squatting, and my partner grabs me by the collar and lifts me up. Without exerting any real force, he gives me the direction of movement, and I rise myself, truthfully continuing the line of his movement and guessing
Page 97
the force that should have been applied. Suppose I respond by pushing him. He flies off, continuing the line of my movement and as if guessing the expected strength of my push.
What is important here is rhythmicity, attention to the partner and the application of force that is used to lift weights in exercises for pointless actions, when the weights weigh nothing.
But the main thing in this exercise is to truthfully perform the action: fly the way I would fly if I were pushed hard into certain direction, or how I would rise if I were lifted by the collar.
The same applies to other methods of stage wrestling or fighting that do not allow the use of real force.
PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
“We are now in class during a lesson. This is the true reality. Let the room, its furnishings, the lesson, all the students and their teacher remain in the form and condition in which we now find ourselves. With the help of “if” I transfer myself to the plane of a non-existent, imaginary life and for this I only change time and tell myself:; “Now it’s not three o’clock in the afternoon, but three o’clock in the morning.”
Page 98
Use your imagination to justify such a long lesson. It is not hard. Let's assume that you have an exam tomorrow, and a lot has not been done yet, so we are delayed in the theater. Hence new circumstances and worries: your family is worried because, due to the lack of a telephone, it was impossible to notify them about the delay in work. One of the students missed a party to which he was invited, another lives very far from the theater and does not know how to get home without a tram, and so on. Many more thoughts, feelings and moods are generated by the introduced fiction. All this affects the overall state, which will set the tone for everything that happens next. This is one of the preparatory steps for experiencing...
Let's try to do one more experiment: let's introduce a new “if” into reality, that is, into this room, into the lesson that is happening now. Let the time of day remain the same - three o'clock in the afternoon, but let the season change, and it will not be winter, not a frost of fifteen degrees, but spring with wonderful air and warmth. You see, your mood has already changed, you are already smiling at the mere thought that you will have a walk outside the city after class” 1.
1. K. S. Stanislavsky, SOBR. Soch., vol. 2, pp. 75-76
Page 99
Thus, with the help of creative imagination, the actor’s physical well-being arises in response to the question: how would you feel and what would you do if, for example, it was very hot now? Cold? Are you tired? Are you sick? Just went for a swim? Have you had lunch? Do you want to sleep? Out to Fresh air from a smoky room? Has it snowed for the first time? etc.
In addition, your physical well-being is greatly influenced by the mood that prevails in the place where you come.
If you enter a hospital where your dangerously ill friend is lying, you involuntarily submit to the atmosphere that surrounds the patient, and try to behave in such a way as not to disturb this atmosphere.
Entering reading room libraries, you will try not to disturb those who study there. This will determine your well-being.
If you are late and come to a youth ball in the midst of fun, your well-being will be determined by your desire or unwillingness to join the atmosphere of fun that reigns at this ball.
You will walk down the street differently in spring or autumn, summer or winter, in clear weather or in rain and storm; to and from work, to and from college.
The simplest physical well-being, -
Page 100
determined by muscular effort, often found in plays.
Let's take, for example, “Our people - we will be numbered!” Ostrovsky.
Agrafena Kondratyevna runs after her daughter Lipochka, who is spinning in a waltz.
Agrafena Kondratievna. How long can I run after you in my old age! Wow, tortured me, barbarian!
As you can see, Agrafena Kondratievna is tired and exhausted so much that she can hardly speak. In the same action, a matchmaker enters the room. The fact that the matchmaker is out of breath is given right in the text.
Ustinya Naumovna (entering). Phew, phew! What is it with you, silver ones, what a steep staircase: you climb, you climb, you have to crawl.
Balzaminov’s physical well-being is somewhat more complex in A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “A Festive Sleep Before Lunch.”
Balzaminov (runs in, holding his head). Ear, ear! Fathers, ear!
Matryona (at the door, with tongs). I’m not a poly-machter, what can you take from me!
Balzaminov. But I asked you to curl your hair, not your ears.
Matryona. Why did you grow big ones! In would go to the policeman, but what would they take from me! (Leaves.)
Balzaminov. Fathers, what should I do (approaches the mirror). Ai, ai, ai! Everything turned black!.. It’s really painful,
Page 101
There is no need to cover it with hair so that it is not visible.
Balzaminov A. Get to work!
Balzaminov. What a hurt! So, with hot tongs, she grabbed the whole ear... Oh, oh, oh! Mama! Even before the fever... Oh, fathers!
We took several examples depicting simple physical well-being, but we must keep in mind that any actor any play, like every person at every minute of his life, is certainly in some kind of physical state of health.
We begin classes in this section with the simplest exercises in which students look for physical well-being that corresponds to the given proposed circumstances.
For example, I’m walking along the road:
a) in the heat. (One of the students played this exercise like this. A hot day in the south in May; he had just arrived, went to the seashore, and the feeling of spaciousness, sea wind, bright sun captured him; he wanted to swim. Using exercises for the memory of physical actions, he began to “undress”, took off his T-shirt, trousers, and slippers; he sat “naked” for a while, basking in the rays of the hot sun, and then began to enter the water; she turned out to be very cold; a feeling of cold first covered the feet
Page 102
nor, then, as he sank into the water, his calves and knees became cold, he began to pour over himself cold water, thought whether he should swim, resolutely went deeper and, when the water covered his shoulders, “swimmed.” In this exercise he managed to convey the seashore, the feeling of spaciousness, heat and cold.)
b) in the rain; c) through dirt; d) in a snowstorm; e) when it’s slippery; f) in the fog; g) at dawn; h) on the hot sand of the beach, etc.
Those who exercise must know where, where and why they are going, and these reasons become a source of physical well-being.
For example. If I’m walking down the road in the rain to the pharmacy to buy medicine for a seriously ill patient, that’s one thing; if I walk along the road in the rain on a date, it’s different, although the road and the rain are the same. If it rains a little, that's one thing, if it's heavy, that's another. An asphalt highway is one thing, a country road is another, a path in the forest is another.
The exercise can be short if I walk quickly along the road, and it can be long if I stand under a tree while waiting out the rain. I can justify it in such a way that a tree does not allow raindrops to pass through, or I can justify it in such a way that at first it protects me from the rain, but then the rain still breaks through the foliage, and I have to move from place to place in search of dry ones.
Page 103
islets. If I'm wearing a raincoat or under an umbrella, that's one thing; if the rain takes me by surprise, that's another.
Or, let's say I'm waiting on the platform for the train to arrive. Circumstances here may vary. For example: a) I ran, afraid of being late, and now I’m waiting, trying to catch my breath; b) the schedule has changed, the morning train has been cancelled, but I didn’t know this and now I’m waiting all day for the evening train; c) I lost my ticket and am about to board the train without a ticket; d) the business for which I came was successful, and I am leaving with success; d) going on vacation; f) meeting the authorities; g) meeting the bride; h) I am the station duty officer, etc.
All these reasons determine different physical well-being and the corresponding line of behavior.
When performing the exercises, it is important to believe in the plausibility of the fictional conditions and remember how you felt and what you did in similar circumstances.
In search of physical well-being from the heat, students sometimes immediately start fanning themselves with handkerchiefs and wiping off sweat. It is wrong if these actions are only external, without a feeling of heat, when the breathing rhythm changes, the mouth gets dry, you want to wash yourself, change your underwear, etc.
Looking for physical well-being in the cold,
Page 104
students often immediately begin to twitch their shoulders, cower, rub their hands and ears, and kick one foot against the other. They forget that first of all they need to remember the true feeling of frost, which at first can be pleasant, invigorating, and then gradually freezes the legs, arms, ears, and nose.
In addition, the feeling of frost is individual. One is cold and suffers, while another enjoys the cold.
Here are some more initial exercises.
I enter the room: a) with wet hands after washing or washing; b) with dirty hands after firing the stove; c) with a soapy face, because in the midst of washing, the water in the washbasin ran out; d) after smearing a cut on a finger with iodine, etc.
Look for physical well-being under the following circumstances: a) a nail in a shoe; b) shoes are tight; c) tired, want to sleep, but can’t sleep (on duty); d) came to someone else’s house in wet clothes and left behind; e) in anticipation of a delicious lunch, when you really want to eat; after a delicious dinner he fell asleep in his chair; I was awakened by the phone ringing; I just can’t get out of my sleepy state; e) I want to smoke, but there are no cigarettes; g) I’m getting ready to catch the train, I’m late.
Page 105
Check the patient’s well-being if: a) headache; b) toothache; c) a tooth was pulled out; d) has a cold, coughs, sneezes; e) high temperature; f) has sprained a tendon in his leg and is limping; g) a speck got into the eye; h) bitten by a wasp.
In these exercises, students usually begin to simulate how they feel. By removing the tune, we explain that there is no need to try to immediately show the result, i.e., the final form of a given feeling of well-being, but one should look for the way in which this feeling of well-being accumulates.
For example. The boots are tight. At first, when you put them on, they may seem to fit. Then it turns out that they are tight, but can be tolerated, but in the end they cause such pain that you can’t walk in them.
However, in each case a justification must be found and each student must do this exercise in his own way.
The exercises are performed so that the action is the main thing, and physical well-being accompanies it.
For example. I'm going to a very important evening for me. I put on new shoes, and it turns out that they are too tight. Events (proposed circumstances) that occurred before the student went on stage will influence the physical well-being with which he enters the stage.
Page 106
Creative imagination plays a major role in creating a true sense of well-being. The biggest mistake would be if everyone starts to behave the same way in conditions of heat, cold, rain, illness, etc. This will happen if they try to feel the heat, cold or rain “in general.” The different circumstances offered will give everyone the opportunity to do the exercise in their own way, and it will become individual, multifaceted and unique.
For example, the exercise “In a new dress.” A new dress can be: a) liked and disliked; b) reap; c) to be worn for the one who gave it; d) tear; d) be too free; f) appear too elegant among the dresses of others, etc.
The exercise “Tired, I want to sleep” can be performed under a wide variety of proposed circumstances and is completely different from the same exercise performed by another student. Fatigue can be both pleasant and severe. I can’t sleep because it’s dangerous or unpleasant for myself if someone sees me falling asleep on duty. Finally, it happens that a person sleeps with one eye and is awake with the other. It happens that a person takes measures to avoid falling asleep: drinks strong tea, smokes, reads a newspaper, etc.
In life, fatigue certainly has
Page 107
individual expression. If we imagine a group of tourists tired after a long trek, we will see that one is sleeping, sitting in the place where he sat down; another gathered an armful of straw and settled down on the straw; the third collects brushwood for the fire; the fourth eats something without waiting for the general dinner; the fifth writes down the impressions of the day in a book; the sixth is trying to wash himself, etc. - and all these various actions will be permeated with an atmosphere of fatigue.
Thus, physical well-being is made up of many circumstances and resembles a musical chord, the character of which is determined by the main note (say, fatigue), and the rest, shading the main one, give the chord an individual coloring.
In addition, physical well-being changes continuously, sometimes even over a short period of time. For example, a chilled person comes into a warm room. At first he is still cold, he rubs his ears and hands, tries to get closer to the hot stove, then, after drinking hot tea, he begins to suffer from the heat and seek coolness.
In Chekhov's scene “The Guest,” an annoying guest stayed with the owner of the house until late at night. The owner wants to sleep, but he can’t make the guest understand that it’s time for him to leave. Finally
Page 108
after a long search, he found a way: he asked the guest for a loan. The guest left immediately.
In this scene, Chekhov wonderfully showed the changes in the owner’s physical well-being. He wants to sleep, and in his irritation he reaches the point of rage. But what a triumph he feels when he finally forces the guest to leave. This is how difficult a person who wants to sleep can feel.
The physical well-being of a person is described with even greater brilliance and humor in Chekhov’s story “Carelessness.”
After some hesitation, overcoming his fear, Strizhin headed towards the closet. Carefully opening the door, he felt for a bottle and a glass in the right corner, poured it, put the bottle in its place, then crossed himself and drank. And immediately something like a miracle happened. WITH terrible force Like a bomb, Strizhin was suddenly thrown from the closet to the chest. His eyes sparkled, his breath stole, a feeling ran through his whole body as if he had fallen into a swamp full of leeches. It seemed to him that instead of vodka, he swallowed a piece of dynamite, which blew up his body, the house, the entire alley... His head, arms, legs - everything came off and flew somewhere to hell, into space...
For about three minutes he lay motionless on the chest, not breathing, then he stood up and asked himself:
The first thing he clearly felt when he came to his senses was the pungent smell of kerosene.
My fathers, it was I who drank kerosene instead of vodka!” he was horrified. “Saints, saints!”
Page 109
The thought that he had been poisoned made him feel both cold and hot. That the poison had actually been taken was evidenced, in addition to the smell in the room, by a burning sensation in the mouth, sparkles in the eyes, the ringing of bells in the head and a stabbing sensation in the stomach.
“The physical well-being of joy can have many shades and feelings, and temperament, and even psychological springs... There are no limits to the imagination that works in human psychophysics to choose physical well-being”1.
These words of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko emphasize that the sphere of physical well-being is limitless and sometimes manifests itself in an unexpected form.
Let us remember the ending of L. N. Tolstoy’s “The Living Corpse”.
Fedya (after shooting himself in the heart). How good... how good... (ends).
It would seem that in his well-being the pain from the wound should be the main thing, but he does not feel it - on the contrary, liberation from moral suffering overshadows physical torment.
Thus, physical well-being, from the simplest exercises to the most complex creative tasks, accompanies the actor during the action and gives the tone to everything that happens on stage.
1 V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, Articles, speeches, conversations, letters, M., “Iskusstvo”, 1952, pp. 167-168.
Page 110
« Performing Arts arises when an actor accepts as truth what he himself created with his imagination,” writes E. B. Vakhtangov.
When a life created by creative imagination arises on the sienna, then the actor must
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
change the attitude towards the subject, place of action, events, partners.
By a change in attitude we understand that internal “rearrangement” that allows the actor to treat conventional objects, conventional locations and fictitious events as genuine, and to partners as actors. For example, treat a fake pistol as if it were a real one, treat the scenery and fake furniture as the walls and furniture of your room, treat an imaginary offense as if it were a real one, treat a fellow student as your father or enemy.
The main way for a change in attitude to occur is the magical “if only”, the creation of the proposed circumstances and correct physical well-being.
“But in order for that imaginary world, which is built by the actor on the basis created by the work of the playwright, to capture him
PAGE 111
emotionally and captivated by stage action it is necessary for the actor to believe in this world as something as real as the world of reality around him. This does not mean that an actor should surrender to some kind of hallucination on stage, that while playing, he should lose consciousness of the reality around him, mistake the scenery for real trees, etc. On the contrary, some part of his consciousness should remain free from being captured by the play, to being in control of everything he experiences and does as a performer of his role. He does not forget that the scenery and props surrounding him on stage are nothing more than scenery, props, etc., but this does not matter to him. He seems to be saying to himself: “I know that everything around me on stage is a crude counterfeit of reality, a lie. But if all this were true, this is how I would react to such and such a phenomenon, this is how I would act”... And from the moment this creative “if” arises in his soul, the surrounding real life ceases to interest him, and he is transferred to the plane of another imaginary life created by him.”1
1. K. S. Stanislavsky, Articles, speeches, conversations, letters, M., “Iskusstvo”, 1953, pp. 451-452.
Page 112
Due to a change in attitude towards the subject, place of action, event, partner, the well-being of the student, the logic of his actions and actions, the flow of thoughts and feelings changes in accordance with the conditions that are given.
This process happens at every performance. On stage there are a number of real things and a number of fake things. ^However, very often real things are incomplete. The costumes are not made of wool, but of paper, satin is used instead of silk, the dishes are made of papier-mâché and you really can’t drink from it, etc. The stoves are made of plywood and painted, but the actor, with his attitude and actions, makes the viewer believe that that in front of him is a real, warmly heated stove, and, although both he and the viewer know that the stove is not real, in this moment it doesn't matter to them.
The actor, with his attitude, makes the viewer believe that the character is not receiving painted pieces of paper, but real money, and that a fake pistol can shoot and kill a person.
For example, Katerina in “The Thunderstorm” holds in her hand, it’s true, a real key, but it’s not for the gate in the Kabanovs’ garden, and the gate itself doesn’t really exist, and the viewer knows this very well, but the actress draws him into her created her imagination is the world, and he is together
Page 113
she begins to believe that this key will give her the opportunity to see Boris.
Just like an ear for music, a sense of truth can be developed and strengthened with the help of special exercises. These exercises consist in the fact that without actually having any object in his hands, the student acts as if he were handling a genuine object, and he must do this so convincingly that those around him seem to “see” the outlines of this object and “feel” in the hands of the performer.
These exercises are called exercises for memory of physical actions. They are the best way strengthening and self-control on stage.
These exercises summarize everything that has been covered earlier.
Attention must be extremely focused.
Muscular freedom should be evident.
All actions and relationships must be motivated.
The ability to treat untruth as truth is trained especially strongly here (for where is there even more “untruth” than having nothing at all in your hands).
In addition, memory exercises for physical actions develop:
Observation;
Memory of sensations;
The ability to find a characteristic detail that is typical for handling a given object. Finding the right detail is the most important thing in art.
Develops the ability to communicate with non-existent objects, to freely and easily handle three-dimensional objects on stage.
Stage task and feeling
Movement– this is only movement in space or modification in space.
Emotional memory
In addition to verbal-logical and visual-figurative, there is another type of memory - emotional, which especially vividly and vividly reproduces certain experienced feelings and everything that is associated with them. That is emotional memory - it is a memory for feelings.
