In today's lesson we started off by doing a physical warm up by stretching our muscles and moving around the space. We then got into partners and did a simple exercise of counting 1 to 3 and replaced each number with a clap, stamp and a suggested movement. This helped to let go of any tension and to be able to practise our scripts with more flexibility.
We then moved onto an exercise to explore finding our inner circle. In order to do this we sat on the floor and closed our eyes and focused on our breathing. We then focused on any sounds in the room and lastly focused on any sounds from outside the room. To conclude the exercise we came back to our own breathing and this grounded us to get into our characters for 'The Cherry Orchard'. Stanislavski believed that an actor needed a sense of isolation in order to produce a characterisation and avoid unnecessary tension. They needed to concentrate on themselves. This is the first circle of attention. Stanislavski referred to it as Solitude in Public. Beyond this, the actor might, in the 'second circle', be aware of the character he is addressing and in the 'third circle', the rest of the production. There's no direct awareness of the audience in this. These circles of attention are achieved through focus and concentration.
After this, we got into our groups and practised our lines and actions. We were told to remember the 'Fourth Wall' whilst performing which is the space which separates a performer or performance from an audience. We also did an improvisation exercise, where we said our lines in our own words which was a good exercise to let go of any tension and it helps not to be so rigid with the lines given. This then made going back to the original text more effective, as we got a deeper understanding of the scene and could deliver the lines with more honesty and truth.
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