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Last year I created an original silent adaptation of “Treasure Island” inspired by the works of Synetic Theatre in Washington, D.C.  This was perhaps one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences for me as an artist, but as a teacher, it really opened me up to how much I gloss over creating characters from the outside in.  So in creating new curriculum, I thought I challenged myself to explore a unit specific for character’s physicality.

As we had just completed a unit on the actor’s voice, I used a transitional activity called, “Making Pancakes.”  “Making Pancakes” is a very simple scene with 3 players. 1 player starts off-stage right, a second player center stage, and a third player off-stage left.  The player center stage mimes making pancakes, and player 2 enters for SR.  Player 2 asks, “What are you doing?”  Player 1 responds, “Making pancakes.  Player 2 ask, “Can I have some?”  Player 1 says yes and gives player 2 a pancake.  Player 2 eats the pancake and dies.  Player 1 calls off-stage left, “Doctor! Doctor!  I think she’s dead!”  The Doctor (player 3) enters from SL, examines the now dead player 2, and confirms that “yes, she’s dead.”  

Now to make this an activity that focuses on using the actor’s voice and body, the actor’s repeat the same scene as a variety of different characters: astronauts, opera singers, disco dancers, witches, robots, the possibilities are endless.  Or you can give them different scenarios: the floor is made of lava, you are in Antarctica, etc. The first few rounds you might have to side coach students to use their bodies, but they catch on quickly.  Now all my students ask to do this activity because it is so enjoyably silly and great warm-up.

From Pancakes, we moved on to Laban movement.  I start the first class by playing a few rounds of the warm-up/game machine, and then explain how Rudolf Laban as a choreographer was hired to make factory workers more efficient. We explore the eight efforts in character walks, and try to identify different character's efforts (Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, etc.). The second day, as they were exploring the efforts physically, I asked students to create a soundtrack in their mind that would accompany the physical effort.  Then on the third day, as they explored the efforts, I asked them to sing quietly the soundtrack that accompanies the physical effort.  This was really cool to listen to, and there were a few times the group created a soundtrack where their songs blended in together.  When we added the soundtrack the student's physicality got bigger, and it was another way into the information for a few students.

After Laban, I do an exercise inspired by Lee J. Cobb’s approach to playing Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman.”  Cobb was young when he played this role, but was heralded for his ability to believably play an old, beaten-down salesman.  Turns out, his secret was he went to the zoo and studied an elephant to connect with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  This animal exercise was introduced by Lee Strasberg in method acting.

You start by asking students to observe an animal.  Observe its behavior patterns, and if possible, how it reacts to you and other humans. Does it have a lot of energy? Is it shy and careful, or curious and hungry for attention? See if you can guess what it’s thinking. Pay attention to the body parts you both share: hands, feet, eyes, etc. How does the animal use or hold them differently than you do? Do you make similar gestures in private, but not in public?

This all leads to the student performing as that animal. To help students lose their inhibitions and commit fully, I had students keep their animal a secret and the remainder of the students had to guess what animal they were being.

After they have performed as the animal, I ask them to stand up and humanize the character. You must keep the physical and psychological aspects of the animal, and transform them to the human counterpart in yourself.   A great example of this the actor who plays Peter Pettigrew in the “Harry Potter” movie. Showing a clip of this gave an excellent exemplar.  

To flip this exercise and connect it to characters, I ask students to identify “spirit animals” of people in the school.  If it is a trusting group, they can identify the spirit animal of each other or you.  My students identified me as a golden retriever because I am playful but can get fierce.  If you’re working on a show, what are the spirit animals of the characters in the show?

The final activity in this unit was inspired by my production of “Treasure Island.”  Students choose a 2-3 minute instrumental song and create a silent story that goes with the music.  They could only use their body to tell the story.  No props, sets, costumes, etc.  We’d start every class with a different physical warm-up and then students had time to rehearse while I rotated among the groups giving feedback.  To help set expectations and guide rehearsals, I asked students to focus on one area of the project’s rubric each day.  This was helpful to give direction to groups who felt they no longer needed to practice.