"If He Had Sex With Rocio, Should She Take The Pill On The Day After?"

Imitate An Animal (Uh Oh):

• Remember to always show the mask, and fixed point ("when the actor doesn't move, but still keeps the pleasure of the game in his body")

I played a cat.

Simple, just walking about slowly then stretching, and lying down for a while.

"Guy...we like him." I was so surprised because I really thought I was going to be killed for being absolutely boring. I thought this mostly because there was very little laughter in the audience. But I suppose that's not always the only indicator. It's strange because because I can't see what the audience reads I'm not that clear on what I look like. But I did focus on being still, having fixed points, and not moving to much - and when I do keep it simple. That worked.

(I also need to remember to BREATHE! I realised I was holding my breath whilst coming out as a cat and a minute in I was gasping for breath inside.)

(I also need to get over the idea that I'm bad at animals, because it disables me. Instead, I need to think of them as an opportunity to play with rhythm - which I enjoy!)

• "We saw more the [insert animal] than the mask" was a common comment in this exercise.

Grandma's Ladder:

To try and teach us the importance of fixed points (as Philippe was getting fed up...) we played a version of Grandma's Keys. This time with a ladder.

One actor enters from the wings at a time and tries to get to the third step of the ladder without being caught by Grandma more than three times. (You don't have to go back when you get caught for moving, but you only get three chances.)

"There are two ways to be alive - the way of the mask, or the opposite."

~

"It's better if you bring a light spirit to the mask...it's better for everybody."

~

"You have to have a fantasy." (bring your fun, spirit and imagination)

Philippe stressed that it's okay to take twenty minutes to get from the wings to the ladder. 3652 fixed points. Most of us rushed. Or no fun. When I went there was latin music in the background so I tried to do latin dancing as I went, but I was doing the idea of 'spirit' without really having real fun. It was just the idea of fun and so it was bad. What I did wasn't for the mask. And so for my punishment came a brand new insult: "If He Had Sex With Rocio [who was bad before me], Should She Take The Pill On The Day After?"

Model Dressed Like A Human:

"Here we see the how the masks can enter the human world a bit."

At the end of class Philippe got us to go and find a costume so we all ran off. I stuffed a knitted jumper to make me look fat, rolled my trackpants up into little black stubbies, held a big brushy broom, and wore boots - like a NZ Speights farmer.

We then got into groups of about six at the back of the stage and walked towards the audience like models on a catwalk. The simpler ones were better. Not too much movement - and when there is movement it's isolated and small. I got in trouble for a bad fixed point. And then got asked why I was so poof? (I was walking a bit effeminately, turning and posing with my hips out).

For me: "A bit...but push too much." It's a fine line I guess. But simplicity is definitely key. Let the audience see the mask.