Have you ever been grabbed by the throat or punched in the stomach? Have you ever lost sight in one eye or had some teeth knocked out? No? Now imagine you had: what would it feel like?
Actors face a lot of challenges depending on the role they play, but I feel like one of the things we often forget about is the body. We think that the body is only used for expressing emotions while dancing, and that acting is more about the words and the actions behind them. But our bodies are still part of us, restricting us as well as allowing us to experience things through them. I’ve come to appreciate how much the body can express, which is why I wanted to focus on movement in ‘Nine’, the play I’m directing together with Anastasia.
Actors face a lot of challenges depending on the role they play, but I feel like one of the things we often forget about is the body. We think that the body is only used for expressing emotions while dancing, and that acting is more about the words and the actions behind them. But our bodies are still part of us, restricting us as well as allowing us to experience things through them. I’ve come to appreciate how much the body can express, which is why I wanted to focus on movement in ‘Nine’, the play I’m directing together with Anastasia.
The idea was to help the actors to find their characters as well as the mood of the play through their movements, but most importantly through pain. The play is about two women who are being held captive and their words as much as their bodies reveal what has happened to them. In the rehearsals, we have been focusing on pain and how it restricts your movements; how do you manage to get up when it might take all of your strength?
In order to familiarise themselves with their bodies from a new angle and find the spots that cause or relieve pain, I used different kind of music as a starting point for exploration. It proved to be a useful tool and the music now works as a guide, helping the actors get into their characters but also into their bodies, remembering the weight of their limbs, the aching muscles and the splitting headaches. Although every rehearsal is both physically and mentally draining, I believe it is worth the effort. It’s not easy to slip into the body of another, but the performance is so much more satisfying when you can see and feel the flesh and blood of it.
-Lotta
In order to familiarise themselves with their bodies from a new angle and find the spots that cause or relieve pain, I used different kind of music as a starting point for exploration. It proved to be a useful tool and the music now works as a guide, helping the actors get into their characters but also into their bodies, remembering the weight of their limbs, the aching muscles and the splitting headaches. Although every rehearsal is both physically and mentally draining, I believe it is worth the effort. It’s not easy to slip into the body of another, but the performance is so much more satisfying when you can see and feel the flesh and blood of it.
-Lotta