We've been spending a lot of time in rehearsals perfecting the transitions between numbers. Neta was talking today about how it's necessary for us as performers to be sensitive to the mood of the preceding and following parts as we make the transitions (and this can vary between performances). Like with movements, the place between one thing and another is something in itself to be given attention, like moving from first to second position. We're still figuring out whether to use the Doomsday music or Austin Powers, so most of today besides other transitions was spent looking at how those two fit into the show in comparison to each other. We also did a full run-through, which I think went well :)
Back at Our Children, the kids remembered their "Crazy" dance parts and "Sculpture garden" phrases well. We started working with them on "Smile" too, which should be lots of fun. It makes me wish I was in that part of the dance in the show- I didn't realize I had such good exaggerated expressions to use, so hopefully I can pull them out with the kids for their matinee performance!
I had hoped to catch a class on Feldenkrais Method at Mark Morris, but it conflicted with the kids' time. The description caught my eye because of its philosophy towards freeing us from restrictive physical and psychological habits, which relates to my career interests with counseling and DMT. I'm going to look more into this! The Feldenkrais site has a quote right on the front page saying that "We improve our well-being when we learn to fully use ourselves," by the creator Moshe Feldenkrais. It sounds like something I'd like to find out more about! Maybe I'll be able to find another class while I'm here... Otherwise, I'll research it on my own.
The last thing I've been hoping to write about is something I've realized comes up when I use props. I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to- when I use a prop over a length of time, I feel like I form a relationship with it. The first time I experienced this was a few years ago with a small blue recycling bin- it was my first serious prop relationship. I got to know that bin inside and out, and spent hours testing it and myself with it to find what was and wasn't possible to do with it. Something similar happened as I bonded with an abstract sculpture at the Harn museum near UF, as our comp class was given free time to improvise with the art. I didn't have much time with that one, just one day, but it was a focused session with me and the sculpture one-on-one, with no limits and plenty of desire to move freely and find how I relate to it. I loved it. Now, the buckets are my new item. They can be joyful or sad, crazy or refined, tender or rough, worshipful or profane, and sometimes they're sexy- at least as much as a bucket can be. I can't wait for the audience to become part of this bucket love as they experience 2,280 Pints- I already saw somebody falling for the buckets today as she watched rehearsal from the door!
No comments:
Post a Comment