We did an appearance-observation activity where we were asked to study a partner while a partner studied us. We then turned back-to-back and changed two things about our appearance, turned back around, and had to spot the differences on our partner. Within two or three partners, I learned that I am very good at this game. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm good at it in everyday practice, but I think I'm relatively observant of others--of their habits and appearances. I understand, though, how small differences could make big changes in the composition of a person. I don't think I would have noticed someone's expression--I would in everyday life, but not in that activity. I suppose it all comes down to focus.
Another activity that we did was the glass cobra. I really enjoyed the glass cobra because it gave me an opportunity to identify a person based on a part of her that was typically unseen or not focused on. I also got to lead a swath of people into the line to re-form the cobra. I felt protective of them and moved in slow, gentle waves while searching for my partner so that the people at the back of my line wouldn't feel flung around. It was interesting to hear how everyone else found their partners. By feeling arm after arm, taking that as a sign that people were connected where they were supposed to be--it's intriguing because of the inherent trust in saying, "This person can't be mine because they have already found the right person and have already been found by the right person." It's as though nobody ever thought, "Perhaps this person is mistaken." Very interesting.
The statue garden was interesting. I like the idea of molding without touching, but I think all three techniques can be used interchangeably to great effect. Molding a person into a position was fun, but I was concerned about my partner's comfort, so I tried to give her something relatively easy to do. Once we were told that the statues were a gallery, the whole game took on a very different feeling. I wandered around careful not to abuse the power of my gaze. I studied my friends, appreciated them, performed my appreciation by nodding and smiling and going, "Hm." Then when I was molded, I felt this dreadful anticipation that I would ruin what Lynett had intended--that I would do it wrong and misrepresent my artist's vision. I don't frequently feel this way as an actor, so why as a sculpture? It may have had something to do with the position that she placed me in--one where I was crouching and looking up into the eyes of my audience. It was a little scary--made me feel a little anxious.
The image improv game that we played was a very fun one. Ben did a wonderful job finding places to fill in--I know it shouldn't be impressive, but seeing people who don't identify as "theatre people" doing well at theatre activities impresses me and almost makes me feel strangely proud of them. It's odd. It was a good game, though, to re-interpret and to re-calculate and re-calibrate. It was nice to push yourself into a different view of things and to know that individuals are capable of mentally occupying more than one interpretation of a thing at a time.
Dynamizing was good to learn. The most interesting part was trying to find people who I thought were responding the same way I was only by seeing them as a solid, single image. I was very nervous about finding the right group, hoping that my slender view of them told me what I needed to know and that our points of view would line up. It's like allying yourself with an organization or finding a spot within a school, church, or organization. Your first view is difficult to trust because you KNOW there's more under the surface, but you only get one quick glance the first time. Scary, but if a place advertises themselves truthfully and your interpretation follows their model, hopefully you can end up in the right place. Once others began moving, I realized I'd usually found the right group. It's a challenging concept, but I think a very important one to consider.
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