Question for actors re: Boal

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:32pm

This is a ridiculous post. But tomorrow, I have to use two of my friends who are actors to stage something; to make it "easy" on all of us, since it's, well, tomorrow and since I have very little directing experience (aka none) I've decided to pick one of the games/exercises from Boal's book, Games for Actors and Non-Actors.

My professor sort of changed my original idea, and said to choose one or two of the more advanced exercises, and said probably one from his section on Image Theatre.

Does anyone have an ideas for which one is good... suggestions in general? Help, please!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:35pm

Oh, I love ball games!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:39pm

Hey, it was a few years back and you'll have to check the book, which I don't have before me, but there is a bear exercise or something where one actor pretends to be a bear and growls and is aggressive toward and intimidates another actor and then they reverse roles.

Wow does that show you the nature of human aggression as you go from one to the other.

As I recall, Boal is Theatre of the Oppressed.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:41pm

I'll look for that, nomdeplume.... and see if I can get my friends to growl like bears, heh.

BSo, be more helpful.

Edited for typo. :)

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 09:41 PM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:49pm

And if you want to emphasize that Boal is Brazilian, you can have your aggressor and victim bears do it all in samba.

I think that would be hilarious.

Maybe the prof would like it better if you showed that after doing it straight, non-samba.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:50pm

Well, wiht only two people?

You can have one ball that they both hold and switch who has control over it to work concentration...

Zip, zap, zop is fun with two people...but boring after a while.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:53pm

It's not supposed to be very long; 5 minutes maximum.

There's one about interrogation; the actors are in character, and are asked questions about themselves, basically. I feel like if i could get them to choose characters they've played and introduce those characters very briefly to the audience (my classmates), maybe I could do some sort of audience participation thing and have my classmates "interrogate" my actors.

... does that sound feasible or am I pulling this out of the sky? It would be contingent on a lot of cooperation.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 9:59pm

You should do the short nonsense scene where the dialogue is easy - and you give different situations...what is it...

A: Hi
B: Hello
A: How are you?
B: Fine, I guess.
A: Do you know what time it is?
B: No, not exactly.
A: Don't you have a watch?
B: Not on me.
A: Well.
B: Well what?
A: What did you do last night?
B: What do you mean?
A: What did you do last night?
B: Nothing.
A: Nothing?
B: I said Nothing.
A: I'm sorry I asked.
B: That's alright.

Then you make up a situation, like B is having an affair with A's wife...or you make up two different things that you tell each person.

A is about to go on a long trip.
B just killed someone....

Or whatever...IT's a lot of fun.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 10:03pm

I'm confused.... so that dialogue remains constant, but the situations are different, so they'd obviously act different? That's neat!

Is that in this book anywhere; or, do you know where it is?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 10:06pm

There are a lot of different nonsense scene dialogues around.

That's the one I've used.

The dialogue is constant...the situations change.

For example, you'd have the two actors just recite the lines with no meaning. Then you make a situation. Then you privately tell each actor a differen situation, or different role.

It deals a lot with dramatic action, or the verbs/actions we associate with a line.

You can say "Hello" to someone to greet them, or to belittle them...

It's called William Shatner acting.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 10:06pm

So they would each think they're in a different situation, while sharing the dialogue?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 10:09pm

Yeah.

There are tons of things you can do with it...

It's a lot of fun to watch....It can turn into a WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY skit even...

Like an actor leaves the room and the audience decides the situation is going to the bathroom...then you tell the person to "ride a horse"....and they come back, sit on the chair, and ride a horse...and the audience thinks it is them going to the bathroom. Or whatever.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/3/06 at 2:07am

Bump.