Methods for Social Change by Andreea-Loredana Tudorache - HTML preview

9-Rehearsals – With Different Exercises

Depending on the progress achieved so far the facilitator can assess if the group needs more work on improvisation, on character building, on developing the script if is not yet a final version on which everybody agrees with or to focus on rehearsals. This unit provides a set of activities that can be used for the rehearsal sessions.

Structure of the unit

• Introduction of the day (explaining the context and what will happen in this session)- 5 minutes
• Rehearsals – Stop and Think – 40 minutes
• Different kind of Rehearsals - 1.5 hour
• Final rehearsal of the day -30 minutes
• Final circle (evaluation, announcements) -15 minutes

2-Rehersals –Stop and Think – 40 minutes

Aims- to help the participants to understand the role they have more deeply; to get more relaxed and comfortable in playing another role, to understand the connections between the characters in the story more deeply, to prepare more to stay in statues a long time;

Description- The group is instructed that they will start rehearsing the play from the beginning. At any time they hear a clap they have to freeze in whatever position they have at that time. They have to stay in statues until they hear another clap (at which moment they continue from where they left on). During the time they stay in statues the facilitator might come and touch any of the actors on the shoulder - at that time the actor has to say what he/she is thinking in that specific moment (of course from the perspective of their role). Once the facilitator touches the same person a second time he/she doesn’t talk anymore. It would be good to stop 2-3 times in one scene (in different action moments) and at each stop to touch every actor on the stage. Impressions from the activity can be requested at the end.

3-Different kind of Rehearsals - 1.5 hour

Aims- to develop acting and improvising skills, to increase the ease of rehearsing in different circumstances; to develop flexibility and spontaneity; to relax and warm up the group.

Description- The group is instructed that they will have to rehearse the play again (and again) but with different variations. The play (as structure, lines) doesn’t change during any of these variations but the speed, the style, the order, etc. Below you will find listed a couple of options that can be used in this activity. Use as many options as you can for the time left but do not rush the process.

• Rehearse different movie genres: drama, horror, comedy, action, etc.
• Rehearse as if some actors are invisible (are not on the stage) - but the action has to happen exactly as originally planned (so the actors have a discussion with the missing person, reply to his/her words and so on);
• Rehearse from end to beginning; from high tension to low tension;
• Rehearse at a very high speed (and nothing can be left out from the play), or a very low speed;
• Rehearse without words (doing all the actions but no words);
• Rehearse with mixed roles – asking some actors to play other roles (this exercise also contributes to reducing the feeling of possession that some actors develop for their role)