No Second Chances

Improvisation with Nicole today. We played a game of Grandma's Keys with home-made masks on, working with masks we hadn't tried before. And sometimes Nicole would stop the game and ask for one of the players to perform a bit. "Do something for us."

"If you're ready to play a character you will not discover."

Franck was brilliant. "Bacchalau!" He played this weird intense gibberish speaking dude (it turned out he was making up the Arabic language) and he interacted with various other masks. He created a game with the audience and so whenever he said anything (like in response to what another mask did) we would crack up in hysterics. Great for Franck too - who is usually quite stiff. The particular mask he was wearing, combined with what he was doing today, worked really well.

"We want to see the humanity of the actor - not a character."

I'm starting to understand the concept of having no character. Don't come on with a character, or an idea. But come on with, or find, a funny voice, and maybe a funny walk/body too. Then discover on stage what those things want to be for the audience at the time.

"Little movements...because you don't know if we like it [yet]."

Q: Does the mask always have to be comedic? Not always, but "the mask helps to pull out the craziness of the actor. That's why we laugh most of the time."

You have to test a lot. Try a lot. If it doesn't work, drop it, and let us know you know it wasn't working. Then we'll see your humanity.

"The mask shows your humanity on a grand scale."

Enter not on the level you'd walk on the street with. But with something special. This doesn't mean original. It means you - open - sensitive - beautiful.

"If you're comfortable on stage we don't like you...It's a very uncomfortable job."

When the actor tries to be clever, we lose the mask.

"Check all the time if we like you."

~

Then we did an exercise in which you come out with a mask on, listening to the music playing, and tell a story to the audience with your movements. Kind of crazy dancing. Avoid pantomime!

I went out first in my group - only because I was the only one behind the screens who was ready. But I didn't make the choice to be special - to be present on stage. I just went out and tried to do something with the music (which was the Limp Bizkit version of the Mission Impossible theme song) and it didn't go very well. Nicole took down the volume of the music a bit to let me know I'm bad and I left. "Good choice Guy! Very sensitive..."

I was a bit gutted though because that was it. 15 seconds and then it was over, and there was no "try again" like everybody else got. But I understand that there aren't always second chances in this world and when it's my turn next time, I need to risk more and go for it. I guess I felt disappointed in myself because I didn't risk. If I had, and it had bombed, then it would be okay. But I just kind of wasted my chance. A good lesson.

Nicole also commented on how I was starting to look the same in all of the masks. This is because I've been trying to play 'timid' like Philippe said is good for the mask. But I hadn't thought that 'timid' can be played in a million different ways. So a little wakeup call to continue playing with my body - and stop trying to get it right!