"Don't Play Too Much"

"Don't play too much" was said a lot today. It's kind of a relief to hear actually. Because I find playing quite hard sometimes - I feel like I have to come up with new stuff all the time. But playing with something clear and simple is easier, and more effective.

New movement teacher today and for the next few weeks. Lauradita (I think?) from Italy. Great fun! Heaps of energy. A really cool class with endless dancing and lots of isolation stuff. Particularly liked the way she got us to do Downward Dogs and then dropping into the Cat Arch position: "Imagine you've just had a really good fuck in the morning - so you hold yourself on top of your partner and then roll down over them kissing their body up to their face." Also did a cool clapping complicité exercise at the end of the class, where you pass the clap around a circle, but you clap in pairs. So one pair claps together, then the person on the right turns and has a new partner. 'Clap'. It keeps being passed around. Faster and faster.

Exercises:

• Musical Chairs as Children - Play as 8 year olds. When you miss out on a chair, you can try to save yourself by saying a poem. Thomas (who took class today) was strict with us, like a Primary School teacher, and picked his favourites to remove chairs. I was going to say a poem I think is funny:

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,

There's always Pooh and Me.

Whatever I do, he wants to do,

"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:

"Well that's very odd 'cos I was too.

"Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.

"Let's go together," says Pooh.

but I thought it could be a 'clever idea trap' for me. So ended up doing 'Tahora Nui' instead:

Tohora nui, tohora roa Tohora tino momona Tohora whiuwhiua, tohora piupiua E kau ana te moana

Big whale, long whale very fat whale fling (your tail) whale wave (your tail) whale swimming in the ocean

I had fun with it when I said it (I used to as a kid too!) but was too aggressive (in a ROAARRR kind of way) as a kid when I argued with the 'teacher' for getting in trouble. Those that were great were again, quite simple, had pleasure, and listened.

"Don't play too much."

"Find the spirit of the child - not a parody."

• Entrances - There's a table and chairs on stage. One person is on in major, and then when the second person enters they take major and the other shifts to minor. The person to enter must bring on some kind of offer, which the person already on stage must accept. There's a potential game of really surprising the person already on stage with your offer. It was also quick fire! "We must love you at the entrance or you die." Simple is good. Character isn't really necessary. Offers don't always have to be verbal.

"When you come in you have to be clear what your intention is. And it's good to play opposites." e.g. I was on stage with Maria-Louisa and she was talking on the phone trying to convince Clair how attractive I am. I was pointing to all the great features on my body and Maria-Louisa was then telling them to Clair. But it would have been funnier if when I'd pointed at my abs she'd said "he's a bit fat though isn't he?" Also play opposites with rhythms too.

Crazy moment of the day/week/course: When Anna came out completely butt naked for one of her entrances. "Oh sorry, wrong room." The next few scenes just didn't work for actors, or audience, because we were still getting over the shock!