Not wanting to rely solely on reflections and advice, to facilitate this “push” that we intend to give you, we present below a “basic toolkit” that you can organize for a series of initial meetings with the group or community you intend to work with.[1]
For this reason, you will not find a path to develop acting skills within an already implemented specific aesthetic.
As bold as it may seem to say this:
It is not our proposal to make budding artists more capable of acting in the theater as we know it. Instead, we will pave the way for the different forms of acting that they bring and develop to be embraced in the theater and society.[2]
For this reason, we will provide sufficient instructions so that the meetings we propose follow a framework similar to what is commonly referred to as “Drama Expression” in its most elementary content. In other words, the development of each participant’s expression within the group through improvised dramatic play.[3]
In this sense, we propose that the initial meetings take place following a progression logic similar to a Drama Expression session, establishing here its different moments and the recommended way to plan them.
Furthermore, respecting the “push” we intend to provide, we will also show scenic and dramaturgical possibilities for the development of group activities. What we call “threads” in the activity sheets.
But, we need to introduce you to practice, so – one thing at a time. Let’s start with what is necessary for the first meetings.
How to think and plan a series of sections
If we are going to interact with an inclusive group for the first time, it is likely that we will need to rely on more or less established systems that provide us with goals and clues about the necessary processes to achieve them.
Regarding the first issue, the goals, we can recommend the following:
- In initial phases – getting to know the group we are working with;
- In intermediate phases – developing expression (both individual and group) according to themes, questions, or topics raised in the sessions;
- In advanced phases – creating spaces for the creation and development of artistic objects with greater autonomy and participation from the group.
With the suggested goals, it becomes easier to understand what we can expect from each session; however, the difficulty of visualizing a session with its beginning, middle, and end remains. For this, inspired by Hélène Beauchamp’s theory, we have established different moments through which each session may pass. These are as follows: [4]
- Activation – Activate the body, disposition, and imagination for the beginning session;
- Internalization – Reflect on the proposed subjects or immerse oneself in the imaginary universe of the session;
- Exploration – Provide the group with expressive tools collectively, through the sharing and realization of imaginary elements;
- Dramatization – Build a short improvisation based on the theme or subjects developed in the session;
- Feedback – Evaluate the current session and decide the direction of the next ones.
The set of moments we have presented will help you plan a session in advance and have a better understanding of the activities proposed in the worksheets at the end of the book. Therefore, we dedicate the next 2 sections to present the fundamentals behind this set of moments and provide a more detailed description of each one.
Session Progression
The moments we have presented are crucial for planning a developmental cycle in the sessions that lead the group, through various activities, to a greater physical, imaginative, and expressive readiness for the climax activity – collective improvisation on a suggested idea or theme (dramatization).
We cannot simply expect the creativity and spontaneous expression of the participants to emerge all of a sudden. Even if it did, the group would not be connected by a common idea to develop, so they wouldn’t be able to collectively develop the proposed improvisations.
Therefore, it is necessary for the participants to understand that they are in a different space-time from their daily lives, one that is guided by the exploration of a common imaginary open to various possibilities.
To achieve this, the path outlined here begins with immersing the imagination and body into a proposed imaginary universe (activation and internalization), then progresses to individual and collective exploration of it (exploration and dramatization), and concludes with an assessment that establishes a direction for the next sessions (feedback).
In the next session, everything repeats itself because, as we have already mentioned, this is a different space-time from the participants’ daily lives. Therefore, to explore the topics from the previous session or create new ones, it is necessary to re-enter this “common space-time” for group creation.
Using a metaphorical image to describe the progression of each session, we can imagine an unfinished book on which we are writing its ending. In this logic, at the beginning, we delve into the imaginary suggestions it offers; then, we explore all its possibilities and give it the ending (or form) we decide; when we finish, we look at what we have written and decide if, the next day, we add new chapters or move on to a new book.
Session Moments
Ativation
This moment can start the session, set its objective, and prepare the participants for it. It can also reappear at any time to exercise not only the body and voice but also memory, imagination, and creativity.
When taking into account the group’s mood, it is possible at this moment to create a conducive atmosphere for work and foster a spirit of collaboration and trust among everyone, encouraging them for the necessary connections.
Interiorization
Interiorization
Through various activities, participants are invited to individually engage with the proposed imaginary for the session. Mostly, the activities included in this moment serve three main purposes:
- Make the participant think of another meaning for what is presented to them (e.g., the chair I use to sit on could be a rocket);
- Create imaginary beings, events, and/or places (e.g., what would I be like if I were an astronaut on a secret mission to Mars);
- Facilitate inner journeys that feed physical representations (e.g., walking with closed eyes in the gravity of Mars).
Exploration
At this moment, participants should share with the group the exploration they conducted in the previous stage and collectively explore these elements. This will lead to the fictional realization of the contents that were solely in the participants’ imagination.
The activities proposed for this moment should involve, at minimum, the simultaneous participation of 2 participants to develop the shared performance necessary for the next stage.
Dramatization
Being the climax moment of the session, the designated activities encompass the creation of the necessary elements for an improvisation and its respective presentation.
The creation of the elements required for the improvisation should include a selection, by each group, of which imaginary elements developed previously should feature in the presentation.
The presentation, which can be more or less spontaneous, should be carried out between groups, meaning one group performs while the other watches. This can follow conventional dramatic patterns or not.
Regarding the first option, it is suggested to create and develop a scenic improvisation governed by the following moments:
- Something happens – exposition of the problem and its context;
- Something needs to be done – searching for a solution to the problem;
- Something is done – resolution of the problem.
Feedback
At this moment, the aim is for participants to listen to each other, for them to listen to themselves, and for all of this to lead to sessions that are increasingly connected to the realities of the group.
The activities included in this moment can vary widely. They can range from a simple informal conversation at the end of the session to the creation of logbooks. In short, anything that allows for the expression of participants’ opinions and their involvement in guiding future sessions can be accepted.
Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that participants’ interventions do not always have to be directly related to the sessions. Exploring topics raised during activities or sharing personal stories is also welcome.
[1] Inspired by Toolkit: Desbravar, from the book produced by the company A Pele. Toolkit: Desbravar is addressed again in one of the narrative activity sheets in this book (Super-Heroínas).
[2] Time to Change, 2022.
[3] Chacra (1999).
[4] The moments we presented are based on the translation and interpretation of the designated moments for the progression of drama expression sessions in Beuchamp, H. (1997) Apprivoiser le théâtre. Loguiques. For a deeper understanding of the moments presented here, we recommend reading the aforementioned book.