Name Exercise

We began our experimental term with an exercise that allowed us to use our bodies to spell out our names. This allowed me to discover new ways to move my body and broadened my mind into how an experimental piece of theatre can be made through a collection of movements. With experimental theatre opportunities are endless, for me it was a case of realising this and being able to filter the unnecessary movements that wouldn't benefit a piece from the movements that would grow into a performance.
The exercise worked on my focus, it was a case of being able to multi task with actions and memory. We had to be creative with our movements and try and use parts of our bodies to spell out our names that we wouldn't usually use. I used my nose, elbow, knee, ear and fist. I struggled with putting my mind in a focused position to remember where I was putting these body parts to spell my name correctly. In rehearsal for this I managed to grasp the concept quickly however it was a mind over matter situation where you had to really get into the zone and not be distracted by peers or influenced by other peoples work.
We then added music to our pieces and the three separate groups had three separate tracks. When performing I had a fast beat, loud bass track that changed the piece altogether. We were asked not to change our movements to the sound of the music and I struggled with this at first as it is normally my natural instinct to move to the pace of the music. After a while I was able to block out the music and just primarily focus on the movement; continuously repeating the movement correctly. The music itself impacted the piece massively and I found myself creating a concept of where this piece could be placed in a performance. The intensity of the bass made the piece harsher and angrier and that reflected on the movements of my fist as it felt as though I was in a fight scene. The response from the audience was similar as they felt it gave the piece a more sinister undertone. The other two I saw had a completely different feel. One piece had slow, contemporary music that made the piece a lot softer and had more flow. This piece had a more romantic feel to it and certain people that used less harsh parts of their bodies I was drawn to watching as in my mind there movements fitted the music best.
This exercise was a great start to the experimental term, I felt more in tune with my body and able to do anything asked that term. It helped me to forget inhibitions as that is usually my main set back when it comes to physical movement in theatre.