I was invited along to the Chrysalis Montessori School in
Glendalough to witness an improvised performance held after a daylong introductory workshop to Playback, a form of improvisational theatre. The performance featured actors well
versed in this process and proved to be a fascinating experience as both an
audience member and as a writer.
The audience was made up of people who had attended the
workshop and members of the general public either interested in acting or
there to watch family or friends who were participants. The atmosphere was very
supportive which was important not only for the performers but also, as I was
about to find out, those of us who supplied real life stories as the catalyst
for the improvisations.
Actor Zane Alexander (who I had recently seen in Romeo and
Juliet) conducted proceedings and started by giving a brief explanation of
Playback and the importance of empathy in the process. The theme of the day was
“What if…?” which is, of course, a question all writers ask when creating a new
work but had even more resonance here as we were encouraged to apply it to our own
lives. Zane was very good at teasing out the threads of a variety of real life
stories, himself showing great empathy as he gently probed for, not so much
details, as emotional signposts. “How did you feel about…?” was an important
question throughout.
While this was going on there would be four actors ‘on
stage’ at any one time out of a roster of 8-9 performers and it was interesting
watching them. One of the hallmarks of a good actor is the ability to listen
and they did so with utmost attentiveness. After the story or scenario had been
offered and discussed with Zane he would nominate, in effect, a technique. The
actors would then take the information they had gleaned to ‘playback’ that
story in improvised form. For example, I offered the moment in my life when I
resigned from a managerial job in Sydney to come home to Perth to be a writer
and the feelings associated with that – fear, relief, concern I’d be seen as a
failure etc. That translated into a physical interpretation of literally
breaking free.
The techniques used (and my most likely inadequate
descriptions) were:
Pairs - where tandems of two actors would represent opposing
internal viewpoints suggested by the story.
Fluid – which seemed to be the four actors working together
to present a continuous flow.
Chorus – the actors mirroring each other to reinforce the
emotional and story beats.
Comic Strip – where we were asked to close our eyes then open
them to a still moment of the story, repeated 3-4 times with different poses by
the actors.
Story – where the 4 actors performed a more traditional
though truncated set of scenes.
Transformation – a technique that was mentioned but not
utilised on the day.
The actors would rotate on and off “the bench” (to use a
sporting term) so that there were always different combinations. The only props
used were four milk crates, two blue, two green; and a selection of long,
coloured strips of fabric. Music was improvised on the spot in the wings
with a mix of - a bell, keyboards, saxophone, flute, occasionally vocals and
sound effects. Talking to one of the actors afterwards, Nichola Renton (who was
wonderful recently in Concussion), this added to the emotional depth and
provided cues as well, notably action changes and end points to ‘scenes’. It
was clear there was a great sense of craft and trust at play here with the
group working seamlessly together.
I won’t go into details of the stories graciously offered
but they ranged from the personal to the light-hearted and gave the actors
plenty to work with. I do, however, now know about the importance of hydration
at sporting carnivals and the dangers of bedbugs on romantic holidays! Indeed,
humour and a sense of play were important aspects of the performance but always
with that sense of empathy shining through as justice was done to each story.
Thank you to the director of the Perth Playback Theatre
Company, Chloe King, who asked me along but also was a performer (as actor and
musician) and even ‘conducted’ one of the story sessions. The afternoon was
well received and on the basis of this glimpse into the process is a valuable
tool for any performer to acquire within a supportive and friendly environment.
For more details of the Perth Playback Theatre Company go to
their facebook page here.
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