Physical Theatre Research Blog 03

The ‘Berkovian’ and Forced Entertainment Exercises

Monday 8^th, Wednesday 10^th and Thursday 11^th December 2014

Last Week’s ‘Berkovian’ Introductory Exercises

     Concluding last week’s introduction to ‘Steven Berkoff’ and his impact on devising theatre, we had a little set of exercises to give us a decent idea of what ‘Berkovian’ style is like to behold. 

     Physically we focused on static and clockwork movements throughout our upper and lower body, linking to our exercises in the ‘Alexander Technique’ as we also relieved our bodies of any unnecessary tensions and keeping control over our balance.  This made each movement meaningful and reflected on what it is like to do a ‘Berkovian’ style performance.  Another physical input that I found referenced a little with ‘Commedia dell’Arte’ and that was “looking into the camera”.  Similarly to “breaking the forth wall”, the purpose of “looking into the camera” was to really intrigue the audience, and almost involve them into the production and your performance.  “Looking into the camera” comes in handy particularly in comedy timing as well, shown in professional examples such as ‘Commedia dell’Arte’ and the popular US Sitcom ‘Modern Family’, in “looking into the camera to involve the audience and make the jokes funnier.

     Another area of focus that comes relevant in the ‘Berkovian’ style is the performer’s vocalisation.  Linking back to what we saw in ‘Steven Berkoff’s’ ‘Berkovian’ styled production of ‘Metamorphosis’, the performances were really static and clockwork within their movement, yet their vocalisation was rather monotone and enhanced on the creepy factor.  So in these exercises we all focused on our vowel pronunciations, in order to give real meaning to our dialogue.  Plus we also looked at giving them meaning, for example projecting ‘A’ with a meaning of showing the characteristics of being in love, wanting to sale something, in hatred, and in confusion.  I found that process to be entertaining and interesting, plus it was all put to good use in our final exercise of the week, in having scripted ‘Berkoff’ production extracts and putting these physical and vocal structures/characteristics to good use to see if we can give a short ‘Berkovian-like’ performance.

     In my small group I was cast as the supporting character, and I thought it would be good to give off a posh and slightly camp physical structure, in order to add a sense of comedy and link back to ‘Commedia’.  As well as use a unique vocalisation using the vowels to show my reactions to the other performers on stage.

     The end result was entertaining for an introductory exercise in the ‘Berkovian’ style in devising theatre.  Yet I couldn’t help but feel we could have been better in our performances and in the delivery of the script, plus I wanted to do more on stage.  So I personally wanted another go at these exercises and these styles of devising theatre, and I was growing to really admire and enjoy the ‘Berkovian’ style of physical theatre.

 

Our Interpretation of ‘Legend of Curse’

     Before continuing our practical exercises into the ‘Berkovian’ style of theatre, we all came to a group discussion focusing on two key areas, how do you define Stimulus and Devising?

Stimulus

-          A starting point.

-          An idea.

-          Something to work with; a Painting, a Poem, a Quote, a Question, a Person, or a Story (all to give your interpretation and response to that specific object/devise to create a stimulus).

-          The style of that Stimulus (Physical Theatre).

Devising

-          Non-Scripted.

-          Creating a new piece of work.

-          A Collaborative piece of work (no set directors or ensemble).

     It was these two areas of the production process that were essential in a devising piece of physical theatre, as they ensure a great starting point for an ensembles production to create something new.  Plus it would also ensure maximum detail and efficiency with their conclusive workshop.

     So for this week’s practical exercises we were split into small groups again, with people we hadn’t worked with much before and we were to give our own ‘Berkovian’ interpretation of a script extract from ‘Steven Berkoff’s’ ‘Agamemnon’.  Whilst carrying out the devising process; given something, interpret it, shared response and improvise to a conclusive piece of work.

     Knowing and understanding that this production was ‘Steven Berkoff’s’ inspiration from the tradition ‘Greek Tragedy’ storytelling, including elements of prophecies, family rivalries and graphic imagery.  The script extract we were given was titled ‘Legend of Curse’, the scene was an opening monologue detailing a character’s description of graphic and gloomy execution and murder.

Our Devised Process

-          Our Shared Response; I believe the character to be on his death bed awaiting death’s calling.  While my team members believed the character as a witness of their children or friends brutal and violent execution.

-          Combining Ideas on Presentation; I suggested the use of a ‘Greek Chorus’ to reflect on ‘Metamorphosis’ and give a shared interaction in character and with the audience.  But we separated into two smaller groups and worked on the two key halves of the script extract and improvised our physicality and vocalisation to an extent we believed to be truly ‘Berkovian’.

-          Linking Ideas and References; together me and my partner devised and created two characters representing a married couple having a meal and later receiving the news of their children’s death.  Through our improvisation and thought tracking we devised clockwork and creepy physical movement and characterised vocalisation that we believe would intrigue the audience to a good extent.

-          Combining both groups Work; by joining back with our other half of the group, we looked at what they had created and they watched what we brought to life to see if we could combine our little piece of work together to make a great piece of ‘Berkovian’ work.  I personally loved what they devised from the script, they used the first few lines of the extract and devised a kitchen scene, presenting creepy and gloomy characteristics, to give the interpretation that they are slaughtering and cooking the married couple’s children.  This worked perfectly with our improvised devised work as we were able to put both works in a decent order and change only little details.

-          Bringing the Final Piece to Life; from start to finish our performance opened with the kitchen staff perspective of hatred towards their masters and cooking their children alive.  As well as showing their masters enjoying each other’s company.  Then receiving their children in their meal and concluding with a collaborative sound of laughter with a hint of fear and concern as to what would come of the married couple’s future.

-          The Performance; I personally found the main performance to be a really entertaining experience.  We gave a successful performance, and gave true depth to what we had to present.  Such as the character’s status and setting of the piece, I fell reflected a real Georgian era estate, reflecting towards ‘Commedia dell’Arte’ characters.  As well as keeping a static and creepy vocal and physical structure to constantly remind our audience that this is a ‘Berkovian’ style of production.  Plus keeping a “looking into the camera” element helped us interact with the audience and keep real meaning and purpose to what we were saying on stage.  I was really pleased with the end result as I found it to be extremely entertaining as a practical exercise and as a performance exercise, giving me newer experiences as an actor.

Feedback

-          Good use of emotionless expressions.

-          Enhancing on the creepy factor.

-          Good creation and originality in the characters.

-          Good robotic, silent and clockwork like movement sequences.

     In conclusion I found the whole devising experience to be a real education and an entertaining experience.  I loved working in this devising method to produce an excellent result that both the performers and the audience enjoyed.  Plus it was a real education, in giving me an experience of what the ‘Berkovian’ style if like to work with, and giving me a wider view of the world of devising physical theatre.

 

Forced Entertainment

     Concluding this week we had a look at a famous theatre company that is well known for their collaborative workshops, ‘Forced Entertainment’.  ‘Forced Entertainment‘ is a European touring theatre company that works in improvisation, collaborative projects and works towards creating something new and original out of traditional theatre.  What I really admired about ‘Forced Entertainment’s’ work was their process in creating new projects.  They like to work together and improvise new projects from the simplest of inspirations (stimulus).  Similarly to the process we went through in our practical ‘Berkovian’ projects, except they focus more on the performer’s improvement and keep to a professional standard keeping audience focused on their story telling.  So when we took to looking at practical exercises in ‘Forced Entertainment’, we had to keep a real focus on ourselves, and not create a character and atmosphere around them, we had to keep to ourselves and intrigue the audience in the best way possible, in an entertaining fashion.  Plus with their usage of improvisation that offers them the chance to bend the rules of theatre to create something unique.  By bending the rules I mean constantly “break the forth wall” and actually involve the audience with their projects.

     For more information on what I discovered about ‘Forced Entertainment’, follow the link here: http://sdcperformancefh.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/forced-entertainment.html

     But in conclusion of ‘Forced Entertainment’ I found learning about their unique methods of performance was interesting and I am eager to have a go in practical excises and experience how their process methods are different from devising processes as well as what the final production piece is like to behold.