About a year ago I went
to a two-day acting course in Glastonbury, organised by Tor
Theatre and Somerset
Skills & Learning. I am going to describe one of the
exercises we did.
It was a small, short
course, really just a taster, but we did many different activities
and it made two days really good in grey January. It was a very
diverse group of people, creating a supportive environment together
with the trainer.
I like courses or workshops where people get together to learn something in a group. I
like acting, especially challenging practice, where you don't have a
text to tie you down, you just make up a character, a situation, and
you play! You get to step outside of your own personality, while of
course still being present.
So for one of the
exercises the trainer gave each of us a number from 1 to 10, without
showing it to anyone else. We were around 10 people I think. Then he
explained that our numbers will represent status in society, 1 being
the poorest, most disadvantaged, 5 being perhaps those who get by
fairly well on average, and 10 being millionaires or royal. He
invited us to think about what our number represented and to step
into that character. The exercise was to mill around evenly in the
space and to get accustomed with our character. Then, slowly he told
us to interact with each other with a gesture, a nod specific to our
character. It was interesting how we could quite easily play some of
the roles, while the middle ground was a bit tricky to find, to
express, the characters around 4-5-6. After that he invited us to say
a few words of greeting as we pass each other, still in line with our
character's status. Later we stopped moving and he told us to stand
in a line starting from one end of the room to the other, according
to status. Remember, nobody knew each other's numbers, only their
own. Obviously whoever had 10 and 1 had an easy job and everyone else
had to find to fill in the rest. If I remember well we actually got
it right straight away, and that with there being two nines!
For me it was
interesting because I think I was playing an 8 or a 9, which is quite
high up there. And it's also interesting to give these “grades”
to people and personalities. And mostly to self-confidence. The
higher you are, the more secure, the more power you have. And the
most interesting about it was that I can act being 8 or 9 and people
can't really make the difference... I think the trainer might have
mentioned that this practice is useful to remember when going to an
interview or having to speak in public. To just think you have a high
number in your pocket and act it!
I know acting is also
used as a form of therapy. I am sure it can be helpful, I've
experienced its power of broadening your perspective. Also, getting
on a stage with any type of performance can be therapeutic and builds
your self-confidence (as long as it is properly framed, in front of a
mature audience).
Have you ever done any acting? Do you remember anything meaningful you learned from any games/exercises from interesting courses?
