Dell Arte: Personal Authority

Week Six:

This we begin the five week section of Actor's Intent.

This week we had Ronlin's identical twin brother, Donlin, come and teach during the week.  Ronlin and Donlin.  No joke.  A little history about Donlin:  He worked with Martha Graham and her company until shortly after her death.  And after working with him, you could say he knows his shit.

Donlin led our three hour afternoon session on Monday.  We had heard stories that Donlin is just like Ronlin, but without the heart and loving side.  So, needless to say, some of us were quite nervous.  The work we did in class was very specific, even more so than we are used to.  As class progressed, you could tell that some people were not present and in the room.  People were entering late during passes we were making along the floor, walking in and out of class for bathroom breaks, and leaning against walls.  A lesson that I walked away with was that we need to take personal authority for what we are doing here.  That we won't come in late on a beat if we are already here and present.  It all comes off as lazy and uninspired.  Nothing of importance.  Not that it is important, but that it matters.  What we do, day to day, matters.  How we engage in class and with people is important.

We had classes with Michael Fields this week as well. He is another teacher here at Dell Arte. Some might say he resembles an angry Santa.  Before each class with him, we sing a song in a round.  This makes us listen on many levels and open our eyes and be aware, not only of ourselves but those in our group and the company.  His lesson is that action is key.  He says it's called a play, not two hours of people talking.  Rather than filling in all the blanks for the audience, follow the action and let the audience use the imagination to develop their story.

Our p-lab of animal picnic went better this week.  You could see a drastic change in the risks people took and the specificity in the gate of the animal.   For example, one of my groups sections was raven.  Once we put the physical image of their beaks in us and imagined this sharp beak cutting into the space in front of us, they became more alive by imagination rather than physically trying to push out our noses.  One thing they told us this week that we really need to abandon doing something right or wrong.  No matter what we do, there will be criticism and if there ever is a chance that there is not, then something was seriously wrong.

We talked alot about contradictions in our work.  That they are all over and naturally exist and that they are to be embraced,  I can't remember why this stuck with me and what it means to me, but I'll write it here anyway.

Um, that is it for now.