Part of our intention heading into this week was to spend some time really exploring how to manipulate the puppets, and we were able to set up a mirror to see exactly what we were doing as we were doing it. We did numerous exercises experimenting with behavioral gestures and non-verbal storytelling, which started to establish the physical vocabulary of Alan, Kyle, and Archie. And I can say that, having the time to focus specifically on the puppetry itself, rather than speaking and telling the story, it is so hard to work both hands of the puppet skillfully at the same time! It takes forever just to grab both rods in the same hand, and then once I've got them both, operating them is like trying to wave a taco around with chopsticks the size of baseball bats. Obviously, continual development of this skill will be an ongoing challenge.
We were super fortunate to be working with Jordi Mand this week, our resident writer/director. She skillfully led us through solo "hot seat" improvs, pushing us to reveal character and history through an interrogation in either a "guidance councillor's" or the "principal's" office. We wrote on our feet and quickly on the page, doing stream of consciousness writing, or various writing projects such as letters or poems. My favorite exercise was a speech to be delivered publicly about "the person whom I admire the most." Check out Kyle's speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkKnWY7LD0
We took huge steps forward this week specifically with Everyboy, but also learning how we work as a group and ways to continue to develop character, story, and dialogue. Can't wait to start applying all of this stuff to our Cabaret Project next!!!
