Reflective Practitioner: Inspiring Conditions of Play

I do not want to launch straight into my usual Siren Song tasks/games/play in the first session because I want to simply get a feel for the group and let them get a feel for each other…..I just want them to play a little. Once we find a group dynamic I will introduce more focused exercises. I already know lots of games that can be used for initiating devising but I have done some research to source some more here are my initial thoughts on those:

“The Grid”
This involves skills of group awareness and discipline, concentration, and trust. An area is marked out for the group to move in, in as simple neutral way as possible (eyes front, head up, no arms swinging), walking in straight lines and at right angles (ninety degrees), changing direction whenever they encounter another person travelling towards them. Someone outside the group claps to indicate that everyone should stop. This is developed so that the group can stop and start without help.

(sourced from Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook
By Alison Oddey Pg 173)

I think that this exercise will be really useful for getting the group to concentrate and learn to become a team, develop being able to read and respond to each other.

A Boal exercise:
One person holds up the palm of their hand and the other person puts their nose really close to the palm. The palm leads the nose around the space. This can be done in pairs but also in 3’s with one person leading two noses. You can swap after a certain amount of time, so that everyone has the opportunity to lead.

This will involve trust and concentration, which is always useful in trying to develop a group dynamic.

Another Boal exercise- In pairs. One touches the other and at the point of contact shakes-you can also introduce melodic sound.

This exercise is useful for exploring reaction. If the performers are going to engage the audience in play then they will have to learn to respond and react to the situations that arise without self-conscious restrictions. I think that this exercise will help to develop their confidence with that requirement.

Ernst Fischer exercise- As a group. The leader calls out an emotion by saying ‘do it for love (or any other emotion). Once this has been called one person must step forward and begin to make two repetitive movements accompanied by two sounds. The rest of the group must do the same but have to fit around the first performer to create a machine. By the end of the exercise the whole group should be functioning as a single ‘love’ machine.

Again, I think that this exercise is really useful for working as a whole and for concentration.