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Since fundamental to an effective playscape is TRUST, Day One we focused on getting to know the people in the room. We made BODY MAPS, standing in the places where we were born, graduated high school, made fantastic memories, and considered "home." We responded to prompts that helped us see what we had in common and where there were differences. (This is where we discovered that more individuals than expected have been electrocuted at Burger King.) We divided into small groups and practiced "Active Listening" in response to the prompt, "If you really knew me..." We learned Whoosh/Whoa and played with zest. We giggled as we built three-thing scenes, adding to each other's ideas. We sat in a circle and had a discussion in which no person could speak for 10 seconds after another finished sharing. We expressed intentions, fears, and goals for the class. And, finally, we read a section from Chapter One of the text "Acting Under the Circumstances" by Richard Brestoff.

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Our second class together, we reintroduced ourselves to each other in a variety of ways, including charades of the key events of our week, a round of Whoosh/Whoa, and an attempt at the silent nodding "yes" game. Together we wrote a very confusing story with each individual providing one word at a time.

Then I dumped a bucket of props onto the center of the stage, and you each grabbed an object or two and used the prop to quick-design a character. After introducing your new selves, you interacted with each other in improvised scenes, exploring circumstances and personalities.

Playing characters and Improvisation can free up our minds to explore other ways of responding to our environment and to each other. When we imagine ourselves to be different from how we usually are, we are accessing new levels of possibility inside ourselves, activating the ability to both emote as well as empathize.

(photo from Theatre Sports in Strindberg, January 20, 2013 in Kulturhuset in Stockholm.)

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On our third day, we caught up with Two Truths and a Lie about our week, and then told a completely made-up story using the phrases "Fortunately" and "Unfortunately" to begin each sentence, in turns. I introduced the idea of the body as instrument, and we got on our feet to warm ours up a bit. We played The Shakes, sending "afflictions" to each other which took over our bodies in new ways. We gave each other invisible gifts, expressing size and weight with our gift wrapping and delivery. In groups, with our bodies, we built a clock, a garden, an airplane, and a merry-go-round. We played Why Are You Late, acting out wild circumstances that had to be interpreted by one person at a time. We sculpted each other into emotional representations. And finally, we walked around the room, observing our own centers of gravity and beginning to explore what happens when we consciously shift our perceived "neutral" into other forms of expression.

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At our halfway point, we started class by choosing a song that would be the "theme song" we'd like to play whenever we entered a room. Then we ENTERED.

We experimented with focusing on a conversation while moving farther and farther away from our partner. We gave each other tours of very special places in our lives through words and imagination in space.

Then we dove into some Laban play.

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While the Laban work originated in modern dance exploration, theatre makers (and all sorts of artists!) began using Laban’s Eight Efforts to explore character in the body. The use of its specific physical vocabulary can extend an actor’s movement and create a sort of "outside in" approach to playing characters. This embodied work can help the actor marry internal impulse with an expressive body.

In our class, we explored the efforts physically and then allowed the efforts to inform character choices in scene readings.

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In this class, you all became the investigators of scene work text. We warmed up by telling and acting out some never before heard Bedtime Stories. Then we dove into the basics of text dissection, and the five W's:

Who am I?

Where am I?

Who am I talking to?

Why are we talking?

What just happened?

We divided into pairs and read the text, dissected the questions, and discussed character and context. Then you bravely got in front of us and started reading the scenes, daring to suck (but failing miserably!)

I introduced to you the next level of questioning when approaching scene work:

WHAT DO I WANT?

Surface level and below the surface,

the driving desire of the character in their life at that moment

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On our sixth meeting, we did some housekeeping up top to set up our last class dates and discuss the possibility of continuing the learning. The class felt bookended by the gratitude and joy that this particular group has shared; your vulnerability, playfulness, and camaraderie has been heartening to witness and enjoy.

After a hearty game of "A Great Wind Blows" (in which we shamed the non-coffee drinkers) and a quick round of "Shoe Death," we read our other two scenes and applied character and circumstance analysis.

Since time flew by, we closed with some walking and moving in character exploration, linking back some of our body centered work with character discovery. We reviewed some basic stage terminology in preparation for getting scenes on their feet next week. And I offered all students the opportunity to memorize as a challenge, should that appeal.

Here are some tips for memorization.

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On Day Seven, we warmed up and then rehearsed our scenes in pairs before coming together to put them on their feet with the class audience. Some of you quickly felt the ways in which holding the script held you back from being fully present. All of you explored the space and the ways in which the environment affected the interactions. I gave each team some questions to think about for the next (and final) showing of scenes.

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On our eighth and final class, we enjoyed the presentation of each paired scene. Each small performance gave us the opportunity to reflect on the small journeys each actor took to understand and relate to the characters and the given circumstances. Across the board, your final performances came across with more gravity and humanity than where they began. You each uncovered layers of truth that would enable all sorts of discoveries moving forward! Bravo!

I made some pronouncements that I dare to believe are true:

Good acting does not look like acting.

A scene can change as many times as you are privileged to perform it.

Showing up with new things for your scene partner and having unexpected moments or realizations is a gift that brings things to life in real time.

Your reflections on playfulness and possibility as a result of taking the class moved me. You modeled to yourselves and to each other what it looks like to take risks, make a commitment, and keep showing up for both. What a worthwhile use of time and energy!

Please know that this is always just the beginning; there is no end to this kind of self and collaborative discovery, as long as you are game.