"Your Humanity Is Better Than The Character...Don't Tell Anyone..."

Today we had to do Political speeches with student-made masks on. Philippe helped a lot of us out today, which was needed.

For an interesting (real) political speech about a Green economic future click here.

~

When I got up, wearing a simple cartoonish mask, I started with a big loud voice saying "WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" It didn't really go anywhere and Philippe soon killed me. "You have to get out of this idea tunnel...Why so loud?...You don't change...You're stuck as this preacher..."

I fought with him a bit (in a playful way) saying I'm trying. I said I did a loud voice because he told other people to have a loud voice. He said to be loud means to have a good impulse. Loud can be a whisper. And thinking about it, loud is good for some actors - but not so much for me - I'm already there technically and loud for me just makes me heavy.

I'm getting frustrated with myself because I'm not really daring to discover right now. Just trying to get it right, which is totally holding me back.

Philippe got me to imitate a range of types of people I'm familiar with from home.

A cyclist from Wellington, who smokes a bit, and stutters; A Maori plumber; An Aussie from Darwin. The result is me having fun, playing with a voice and a particular rhythm. The audience starts to like me now (although I didn't really run with it and find something great). He stressed the difference between having an 'idea' versus simply imitating something fun I've noticed on the street.

He also got me to do smaller gestures as the Maori plumber I was playing. "Wanna beer bro?" When gestures are normal they don't help us dream - they're just like life. As soon as I did smaller gestures - it's different, unusual, something else - and the audience laughs.

~

Andre was INCREDIBLE as this bumbling british politician character. He didn't really say anything. Mostly ers, ahs, and bahs...and just as we think his sentence is over he makes it go longer with an "although"... He created a game in which every question is difficult to answer.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Well, on my mother's side...

He was quite similar to this guy...

"We could stay 3 hours to listen to this idiot...he's good this one, for you."

We were rolling on the floor laughing! It was fantastic! And Philippe's right - we could have stayed with him for 3 hours. He stayed on stage for 45 minutes (a 45 minute solo improvisation! That's got to be some kind of record) and that time flew by.

~

• I noticed Philippe often draws on students' personal experiences as a teaching tool. e.g. How do people speak in your area? This often is fun for and unique to the person on stage, which are good ingredients for presence...

"You have to shout". Akron wont raise his voice enough. He's just not going to the level required of him as a stage performer. But instead of pushing him until he gets there, Gaulier gives him opportunities with the threat of dying. "You will leave soon..." then boom. It's up to Akron to do the learning for himself. To give something. I like this. It builds more reliance on the self and less on others.

• As actors we must to claim our place on the stage:

Claire de France - "You are too far... We don't receive [you]. For us you don't exist. You have to say - be careful I am coming."

Thomas - "You have to propose many things. You have to say I am here. Its my place to be here. You have to say that."

• Franck can start big and bold because he's having fun to imitate. There is no character or idea. Rather, there's a voice and a rhythm. "A bit racist...but he gives a good impulse."

Aussie-Mike did high pitched voice - a little girl character. "You're happy to listen to this voice for one hour and a half?" NO.

~

"First we see the mask. Then we say Ah! The mask is funny when it moves its arm like that."

We must say to ourselves: "I come everyday to discover something. Good or Bad, I discover something."

"We dont see anything human or true. We just see a character."

"Idea of character blocks you...it's good to wait and to try many things. But if you come with a character - ooh lala - you go to a big flop."

"What is your rhythm when you are happy? All the time we are looking for this."

"Something has to come. a special rhythm. the problem is everybody has their own special rhythm,...their own stupidity...EXCEPT TEACHERS."

"Your humanity is better than the character...don't tell anyone..."

"If you don't know where you are going the 'theatre' is not coming...something else is coming" and something else is usually surprising/different/unique/wonderful.

"When I teach I am always looking for something special. Not classic. Not theatre as we know it."

"An actor - he brings something new. You have to be new. To say 'I'm going to put a bomb in the old theater and bring something new'. To bring theatre is not enough."

"It's your job to discover...Something from yourself, your fantasy, your everything..."

~

I had a good idea for the name of a theatre/acting book I may write one day: 'Trial and (T)Error'. Copyright! No...actually it's already been used:

Oh and by the way...I'm now "Guy - the Virgin of New Zealand" = the continuation of a joke Philippe's been dragging out for the past week or so. We have 'the virgin' of many countries in our class now...