Theatre Lesson : (Sep'15) Le Théàtre de Jaques Lecoq ( Laban Movements - Levels of Tension - Eye focuses )

After spending an hour or more on the concept of neutrality (which, according to Ms Val, was supposed to be done for a long period of time to fully understand the state of neutrality - the actors under Lecoq practiced just 'the awakening from relaxation to go into neutral state' for at least half a year before their proceed with the sight of new items or props and go further in the neutral state ), we experimented with a few things. We have learnt Levels of Tension, Laban movements, and Eye Focuses.

Jacques Lecoq developed an approach to acting using the seven levels of tension. We has been practising them for a few times in the class and I do think i really helps me, as a beginner to start my journey in theatre lessons. Out of seven Levels of Tension we learn in class, we have the Catatonic, which literally means being in a state of immobile or unresponsive stupor. In that session, we are require to walk in the one level of tension and change into another one when Ms Val call out for another Level of Tension. For Catatonic, we have to walk as if our ankles were chained with irons of lethargy. There's no tension in the body at all. Being in a state of relaxation, everything was done with minimal strength. If we have to walk or speak, it's real effort. Then, we have the Californian, of which supposedly refers to the carefree, laid back characteristic of the Californian Soap Opera. Of course, we have the Neutral state - having no story behing the action - and the alert state - curious and alarmed state, possibly a Mr-Bean-like state. These four levels of tensions are our everyday state.

Besides, we have the suspense state. All the tension is in the body, This level of tension is quite melodramatic, and sometimes, a bit of exaggeration is required. Female suspension I portrays the style of the ladies in the Victorian era while Female Suspension II requires us to walk and move like a female supermodel. Again, Male Suspension I is the counterpart for Female Suspension I and Male Suspension II is the male supermodel thingy, Then we have the Love Passion and Anger Passion  level of tension, and it was funny, witnessing the six of us being love-struck in front of Ms Val.

In my opinion, States of Passion deals with extreme emotions. Love. Anger. Fear. Hilarity. Despair. and Hope. And those sudden emotional outburst, are difficult to control.  Lastly, we have Tragic. Basically, in the state of being petrified, as if a full body bind spell has been cast on us. The body is a solid tension.

Later, we proceeded to the Laban movements which consist of the movement of WRING, FLICK, FLOAT, PRESS, GLIDE, DAB, THRUST/PUNCH, and SLASH. The movements are just like the denotation of the word itself, but with those movements we can achieve quite number of things.

This is when the interesting question of the difference between 'movement' and 'action' comes in. Someone in the class brought up this question, and I'm happy that I managed to answer it. movement is just a movement, it can be wring, pull, push, knock, and et cetera. However, when intention comes in, the movement becomes an action. With a will, an intention, a purpose, the movement that brings out a goal is an action. Gestures or hand signals are intentional, and therefore, they are considered as actions. Putting together the Laban Movements with the Levels of Tensions aw well as the eye focus, movements becomes actions. That's what we had been doing for almost most of the classes in September. ^^

Jacques Lecoq

Levels of Tension :

1. Catatonic ( Exhausted, Jellyfish-like state )
2. Californian ( Laid back )
3. Neutral ( no story behind the movement )
4. Alert ( curious )
5. Suspense ( Victorian era / Supermodel )
6. Passionate ( Emotions / Opera )
7. Tragic ( Petrified )

Leban Movements : 

Eye Focus

1. Wring
2. Flick
3. FLoat
4. Press
5. Glide
6. Dab
7. Thrust
8. Slash

Eye Focus : 

1. Up and over
2. Surface of the ground
3. Personal 1 
4. Personal 2
5. Eye to Eye
6. Imaginary Character
7. Horizon Loss 
8. Horizon Return
9. Epic

Laban Movements is a method and language for describing, visualizing, interpreting and documenting all varieties of human movement. Effort in Laban Movement is the characteristic about the way movement is done with respect to inner intention. It has four subcategories and each of them has two opposite polarities. The four factors are Space, Weight, Time and Flow. For Space, we have direct and indirect (flexible) movement. Weight is represented by the strength used in that movement, like a strong movement or a light touch. Time can be referred to the duration of movement, be it a sudden, nimble move or a prolonged, sustained move. Flow, on the other hand, is responsible for the continuity or "ongoingness" of motions. Without any Flow effort, movements must be contained in a single stroke. Flow of a movement resembles the fluidity of the liquid.

**************

For me, in class, I experimented with two combinations of different Levels of Tension, Laban Movement, and Eye Focuses. For the first time, I played with Male Suspension II (supermodel), Laban Movement Flick and Up and Over Eye Focus. Ms Val made us say "I LOVE YOU!" in the context of our combination. I imagined myself an idol, in my purple silky cloth I mentioned in my previous post, flicking and swishing the cloth, like I'm wearing an ancient Greek toga, waving and doing fan service to my imaginary "fans". Saying "I love you" in front of a large group of friends, is hard, and awkward!! I freaked out because initially, I could not relate my choice of movement combination to the word we have to say. Later, as an actor, I guess I have to overcome that as we will have to try more scripts in the future. After trying to get into the mood of our character or a few trials, we get to show others our character. Ms Val didn't believe what I did for the first time. I made a few amendments and tried again and finally I got some positive feedbacks from Ms Val and my friends. I will work harder for a better performance. My second combination was Catatonic, surface of the ground eye focus, and float Laban movement, and we have say "He's dead!" This second attempt was not too hard because I imagined someone died and I was grieving for him. For now, I suppose intuitive response from our inner thoughts and emotion do play a very important role in conveying the message we want bring out. Without a clear intention, it is very hard for the audience, or even the actor himself to understand what has been delivered. You have to mean what you say.