Change

I asked, almost innocently, one of the actresses from Odin Teatret, a woman who had dedicated more than forty years to making and keeping this one Theatre (Odin) alive, what it was that prompted her to want to "go out and change the world" with her art, her work. She replied directly and simply "I did not intend to change the world. I intended to change myself."


For those of you unfamiliar, Odin is a "Temple," a "Monastery." The work begins early in the mornings and ends late in the evening. "The work on Oneself," and "The Work on Ones Craft." Change, growth, mastery, continuum. Change, growth, mastery, continuum.


The change she and her colleagues at Odin have affected in the world is without question. Their contribution to the world of theatre and art the same. But she says she started (and ends) with herself. It is cliche, but profound and true. She is one of the actresses that you see in the early training films of Odin Teatret. In the daily regimen of physical exercise in a remote corner of Denmark, I doubt she ever fully imagined what it would all amount to.


These thoughts and images bring me to my question. How does an actors body change and grow in specifics with their art, their craft? I will leave alone for now thought and personality, perspective, view and knowledge as these are particular to individual and circumstance. I will isolate on the physical body.


I worked for several years with actors whose bodies were considered disabled, whose bodies had sections that did not move with prompting from that individual or moved involuntarily, etc. Some used wheelchairs to enable mobility. I've worked with actors skilled in various forms of dance, mime, martial arts and other disciplines. I've worked with large bodies and small bodies. In other words, I recognize and acknowledge a fantastic and seemingly never ending array of "bodies" that come with an actor.

In Actor's Gymnasium, we often begin sessions with the "walk around the room." At a glance during this simple walking by everyone, it is easy to see who is moving initially with self-awareness, or self-consciousness, who has their attention outside of themselves, on others, who seems "comfortable," who seems "uncomfortable." Then we give simple instructions such as "be aware of your the motion of your arms, full range from shoulder down through your fingers." Again at a glance it is easy to see who makes this adjustment and how that adjustment in attention affects everything else that is happening with their body. Then we may for example ask them to elongate their stride, prompting an awareness of the fact that the walking is a balance-unbalance-balance activity. The overall reactions of bodies varies again. Some become "playful" with this principle, some become "cautious." We see the workings of respiratory systems.


Then we add the "fiction," the circumstance, by asking people to walk (still keeping the elongated stride) as if the floor was a bouncy surface that pushed back against your own weight and pressure. Now we see for the first time what to me is the most important aspect of how an actor's body functions - that is how it responds to the craftwork commands placed on it by the mind. This is Stanislavsky's part two of An Actor's Work On Oneself, seeing that those commands are embodied properly and consistently. In otherwords, the actors daily mind knows that the floor is a hard, flat wooden surface and through habit the body is still reacting and functioning with that information. But the actor is now creating a secondary command or set of information suggesting to the body that the floor is spongy, bouncy. The actor may set this command in motion one of several ways, by visual image or sense memory for example. The actor's body is now going to follow primarily either the daily mind (hard wooden surface) or the craftwork (spongy, bouncy). Ideally it embodies the craftwork command. Through time and work the relationship between the physical body and these craftwork commands by the mind based on fictional circumstance, becomes synchronous and mutually inspiring. In that state we say the actors behavior is "organic," meaning it just seems to be happening easily without conflict from daily mind commands or improper logic of craftwork commands.

Actors whose bodies are rhythmically sound and variable, who recognize balance and initiation of movement, are without excessive and unnecessary tension (relaxed), not slave to habit, and are sensorally active, to me have a greater chance of fully and consistently responding to and developing a relationship to the commands made upon it by the craftwork.

Overall health and stamina certainly has to be factored in as well. In previous posts I mentioned actors who were unable to breathe and get enough air necessary for the action of the play. I mentioned actors whose physical bodies just seemed "broken down," unable to endure the duration of a play, a run. Even twenty minute segments of Actor's Gymnasium sessions have left several attendees gasping for air and/or not coming back for more. It happens. Some actors take it as a sign to work on developing their body and some give up or don't care and go away.

All of the actors who regularly attended Actor's Gymnasium had or have developed outstanding bodies. None of us are ready for triathlons or anything like that but we can keep our bodies highly invigorated for the two hours that we work. Change has been noticeable - Freedom with the body hand in hand with freedom of our minds, our ability to create.