Returning to AG's today was a FANTASTIC experience. To better focus my attention on the tools I incorporated the use of a timer set to 7 minutes for each AG--I like the number 7 and something just felt right about the amount of time.
After a quick review of yesterday's reading from the NMCA handbook, I jumped into exploring Push, Pull, Lift, Smash, and Gather, with a brief veiled exploration of Throw.
The important foundation of BBEEP kept me on track, but I felt the greatest revelations came from Preparation: the visualization of the energy body performing the Grand Gesture.
Before physicalizing any of the gestures I explored today, I stood in a neutral stance, drew my awareness to the energy body filling my surrounding space and visualized it performing the Grand Gesture. I did this visualization 3-5 times for each AG, focusing my intent upon Breath, Body (Energy Body), Extreme Polarity, Effort (100% use of Energy Body), and PASS. After each visualization I did a brief Flyback to identify areas I could double stuff and then enjoyed the visualization once again.
I feel that this Preparation greatly informed my experience in physicalizing each AG and made it easier for me to Flyback and make adjustments to better BBEEP.
I thoroughly enjoyed incorporating the Synonyms and Actionable Phrases in the Appendix section of the handbook.
It was great experimenting with the form of each AG, and I found that varying the way in which I performed the AG identified physical forms that had greater impact for me personally. For instance, in my previous practices I performed Pull much like a person participating in a tug-of-war with a rope, however, this never felt right. In one variation I pulled as if I were grasping energy much like a straight bar and found that my will centers were much more engaged and that it was easier to give over to the AG, allowing it to act upon me.
I intend to work through the other AG's tomorrow in much the same way as I did today, however, after reviewing all of them in the broad manner, I believe spending more time on each individual AG will be of greater benefit. Some of the veiled movements I was exploring with AG's like Pull and Gather were greatly expansive to my physical vocabulary, and I believe more time spent can only mean more discovery.
Showing posts with label Michael Chekhov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Chekhov. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Exploring Archetypal Gestures (Day 1)
Today I read about the use of Archetypal Gesture (AG) in the Chekhov Technique.
From my current understanding, AG's are intrinsic within the daily expression of our underlying intent; they are physical manifestations of the the person's desires/objectives/subtext/etc. These gestures are "archetypal" in the sense that these physical forms of expression are subconsciously used by all individuals to the point that they are identifiable with simple observation. (Example: when retreating from a confrontation, individuals are likely to raise their hands and make a pushing motion).
When practiced within the Chekhov Technique, AG's activate the Will Force--the driving energy which incites action. AG's when practiced by themselves are devoid of thought or emotion and can be used as a means to expand the actor past his habitual forms of gesture.
Flying back over my typical gestures, I see that I am prone to use Lift, Push, and Reach quite frequently in my acting, so I will focus on exploring other forms of AG.
Today I will experiment with the use of Tear.
Flying back over my first exercise in using Tear, I really enjoyed the sense of power in the movement and intention. Each time I performed the Gesture the intent felt stronger. I noticed what I thought at first was an emotional response of frustration or anger, however, upon further reflection I cannot be sure if it was an emotion or simply a highly activated sense in the will force--I want to explore this further to be sure I am not adding in emotion. I believe I activated my will centers because my feet, hips, and the heels of my palms feel tingly with energy and I have an overall sense of greater vitality, a desire to act (not to be confused with acting). I had difficulty maintaining enough breath for the 3 count sustain, but allowed myself to live in those moments anyway. Perhaps a faster tear will solve the breath issue. I would like to invest more in the image of the energy (Grand Gesture) during PASS. My favorite part was definitely the feeling of energy coursing through my body during and after the gesture.
Reading further in the NMCA workbook I see an interesting explanation of the exploration of Tear which I will now incorporate:
"Tear can be two Pulls apart or a Pull away from."
This also leads me to believe that it may be of greatest benefit to begin with the main six AG's (Push Pull Lift Smash Gather Throw) in order to approach Tear with a deeper understanding.
I can't wait to incorporate the practice of these gestures into my script work throughout the week!
From my current understanding, AG's are intrinsic within the daily expression of our underlying intent; they are physical manifestations of the the person's desires/objectives/subtext/etc. These gestures are "archetypal" in the sense that these physical forms of expression are subconsciously used by all individuals to the point that they are identifiable with simple observation. (Example: when retreating from a confrontation, individuals are likely to raise their hands and make a pushing motion).
When practiced within the Chekhov Technique, AG's activate the Will Force--the driving energy which incites action. AG's when practiced by themselves are devoid of thought or emotion and can be used as a means to expand the actor past his habitual forms of gesture.
Flying back over my typical gestures, I see that I am prone to use Lift, Push, and Reach quite frequently in my acting, so I will focus on exploring other forms of AG.
Today I will experiment with the use of Tear.
Flying back over my first exercise in using Tear, I really enjoyed the sense of power in the movement and intention. Each time I performed the Gesture the intent felt stronger. I noticed what I thought at first was an emotional response of frustration or anger, however, upon further reflection I cannot be sure if it was an emotion or simply a highly activated sense in the will force--I want to explore this further to be sure I am not adding in emotion. I believe I activated my will centers because my feet, hips, and the heels of my palms feel tingly with energy and I have an overall sense of greater vitality, a desire to act (not to be confused with acting). I had difficulty maintaining enough breath for the 3 count sustain, but allowed myself to live in those moments anyway. Perhaps a faster tear will solve the breath issue. I would like to invest more in the image of the energy (Grand Gesture) during PASS. My favorite part was definitely the feeling of energy coursing through my body during and after the gesture.
Reading further in the NMCA workbook I see an interesting explanation of the exploration of Tear which I will now incorporate:
"Tear can be two Pulls apart or a Pull away from."
This also leads me to believe that it may be of greatest benefit to begin with the main six AG's (Push Pull Lift Smash Gather Throw) in order to approach Tear with a deeper understanding.
I can't wait to incorporate the practice of these gestures into my script work throughout the week!
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