Blocking The Cinderella Pantomime Again: Part 1

The task today was to restart blocking through the first part of Act One of Cinderella (blocking is a theatre term that refers to the exact movement and positioning of actors on a stage in preparation for a play). At times, I over-thought the reaction, so I will do some self-set homework and watch pantomimes in order to observe the chrorus' reactions. This will create the opportunity for me to interpret ideas for performance material- which refers to using ideas from other performances in that of your own.

Before blocking, we participated in warm ups and breathing exercises. As an actor, it is important to control the way in which you breathe as this can affect your voice and movement onstage (especially if you are nervous). A way in which you can identify whether your breathing is controlled is by breathing in and then say the word 'ma' as you breathe out for as long as you can, until the breathing becomes staccato (staccato refers to each sound or note being sharply detached or separated from the others). A way of achieving a steady breathing pace is by inhaling for a few seconds and then exhaling for a longer number of seconds.

This video, created by 'New York Vocal Coaching', explains how to deal with nerves on stage, especially when singing. At 2:30 minutes he talks about the importance of exhalation, when trying to relax.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V74o8TgP-I

A point raised by The Director today was that some of the main characters should become familiar with 'The Clock'. 'The Clock' is mainly used in 'Commedia Del Arte' and 'Clowning'. It is used to make the audience feel involved- as the actor will usually look to the audience for there consent to do something that is often very mischievous. For example, if a character is about to 'pie' another character, in the face, the one with the pie might look at the other character, then the audience, then at the pie, then to the audience again, get their consent and then 'pie' the other character. However it does not necessarily have to always be in that order.