For this strategy, think of your story linearly – beginning, middle, and end. Next, temporarily silence the audio, and focus strictly on the visual storytelling:
As iconic choreographer Martha Graham famously said, “The body does not lie.” All humans reveal authentic truth within their own bodies, whether we mean to or not. Try not blinking at a firecracker pop, or slowing your heart rate when you’re nervous. These involuntary responses are extraordinarily useful for actors as they develop their characters. Audience members need not hear a word to understand the power of a hug, the intention of a quick pivot and exit, or the homage of a deep bow.
Here’s a litmus test for this approach: At the final bow, how much story is revealed without sound?
Familiar, Relatable Gestures and Physicality
Much of this list likely goes without saying. Even to your students, this is intuitive stuff. That said, you’d be surprised by the impact you have as the director to gently remind and encourage students to draw on these seemingly obvious gestures. How many of us forget how to act like a human as soon as we’re in front of an audience? It is incredible how an emotional world can be unlocked through the use of one simple (yet specific) gesture. Here are a few ideas to spark your thinking:
A hug.
A bow.
A wave.
A (stage) fist.
An arm around a shoulder.
Etc. (You get the idea!)
Laban Movement Technique: The Eight Efforts
If I practice saying “I love you” while skipping around in a light and joyous manner, those three words (“I love you”) will have a certain quality about them when I finally stop skipping to deliver the line. On the other hand, if I practice saying “I love you” while punching the air with intense and direct focus, those three words (again, “I love you”) will have a whole new flavor about them when I finally stop punching to deliver the line.
In this technique, the actor fully embodies – to a dramatic extent – one of the following eight efforts in their preparation. When it is time to perform for an audience, the actor can calm down on the physical side of things, but their physical preparation will ideally remain embodied under the surface when they deliver their lines.
Each effort has four characteristics: Focus, Speed, Weight, and Flow. Flow is free or bound, weight is heavy or light, speed is quick or sustained, focus is direct or indirect. A lot to remember, so here’s a simple-dimple breakdown:
Slash:
Focus: Indirect
Speed: Quick
Weight: Heavy
Flow: Free yet bound
Punch:
Focus: Direct
Speed: Quick
Weight: Heavy
Flow: Bound
Float:
Focus: Indirect
Speed: Sustained
Weight: Light
Flow: Free
Glide:
Focus: Direct
Speed: Sustained
Weight: Light
Flow: Free
Dab:
Focus: Direct
Speed: Quick
Weight: Light
Flow: Bound
Wring:
Focus: Indirect
Speed: Sustained
Weight: Heavy
Flow: Bound
Flick:
Focus: Indirect
Speed: Quick
Weight: Light
Flow: Free
Press:
Focus: Direct
Speed: Sustained
Weight: Heavy
Flow: Bound
Mediums of Movement in Visual Storytelling
This is the kind of thing that you might see in an improv dance class. Most people are initially uncomfortable in these settings because honestly you have to shed some inhibition. This said, we can’t be too shy, because the movement qualities that can be discovered through this tactic are absolute gold. To release inhibitions and avoid the “performer/audience” dynamic, encourage all of your students to participate at the same time. There is strength in numbers. It’s also helpful to have your students stand in a circle facing outward. This limits external judgment towards themselves and others. This abstract tool, mediums of movement, is meant to enhance simple dance steps in the same way a writer's tone is meant to enhance simple sentences. As this is (again) an abstract method, the work can go in pretty much any direction that you can imagine, so get creative, get your students involved, and have fun! Here are few mediums of movement you might try with your students:
Suggest the following to your students…
Imagine moving without gravity (as if you were on the moon).
Imagine moving through sand.
Imagine moving through water.
Imagine moving through honey.
The list goes on…
Here’s a specific application for this tactic: ‘Movement through honey’ indicates a sort of sticky-tension, so you could have your ensemble move with resistance while the lead character/soloist is making a difficult decision. After the resolution, you could have your ensemble ‘move through water’ to indicate the freedom felt after your main character’s difficult decision is made.
You can use these qualities to season the movement of your cast however you see fit. Take your audience on a journey. Draw on various qualities to enhance key moments in the story – spice things up! By your actors learning to embody how it might feel to walk on the desert, to jump on the moon, to swim in deepest waters…they are empowered with specific physical qualities that serve the story arc. The final product will be so much more interesting and effective for your audience – you have captured their attention for a story worth telling!
Need Some More Staging Ideas? Check Out Our Video Samples From Presentation Day: THE PARABLES Below!
Of course, sound clarifies specific details (names, tone of voice, etc.), but we believe – by the visual storytelling alone – your audience should at least have a sense of the throughline. Once you've done this work on your visual story, by all means, bring the sound back ! We love sound. This is Musical Theatre after all – an art form with many components. We plan to address the auditory side of things in a (soon-to-come) blog, so stay tuned! For now we pray that these tips and tricks serve you well as you work, in excellence, to clarify the visual storytelling of your next Theatre offering.
*Blog Edits by James Dawson Fobes.
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