STANISLAVSKI'S METHOD ACTING-PART 3
So today's topic needs not to be explained much! Right or Wrong?..Well even my own perception towards this aspect of Method Acting was previously similar to what everyone sees. So today's topic is Relaxation. And trust me there is a lot that needs to be talked and how can a individual relax in a moderate state or rather let me me quote how is relaxation aspect important in terms of Acting!
Lets begin today's exploration on relaxation, human body has a lot of tension area's that at times make it fatigue either restricts movement or flow like a feather. Actor's natural enemy is tension. Tension basically are of two types physical or mental. These tension are so minute or meticulous in body and hence it becomes difficult to bifurcate the two! Mental Anxiety can cause physical contradiction in body, and,conversely the relief of one bring about the relief of the other. A stiff neck can creep down to shoulders, back and arms. I would put some focus on the doctors who deals with muscular disorders relieving pain in certain areas by careful manipulation to another area which at first does not seem to be connected with the pain. The doctor will make an vertebra adjustment, gently massaging, and heat up the area, later on you won't feel the pain.
It is necessary that you endure physical strength, so muscles do not hinder an actor's work. It is impossible to get rid of the body tensions, but one must try to secure it! If the body gets completely tension free, one might become Jelly Fish, so smooth and vulnerable. But the removal of unnecessary body tension should be done. Any such flow of tension in body should attract actor's immediate attention.
Physical tension can be relieved by making your mind aware of it's root cause.
1) Mentally aware at it's first place.
2) Aware of its location.
The image below gives an insight on relaxation with your breath as well as the location you belong too..
Ordinary muscular spasms around the elbow, neck, shoulders can be treated well. Speaking of the throat tension, it is internal and how one can actually treat themselves to make it loud and clear; cause for an actor speech is way to important! A good healthy yawn can actually release tension around throat, stretch the muscles around mouth making it comfortable and easy to pronounce. Actor's word are equally important and hence breathing comes into picture. Proper breath helps nourish your voice and is an important diaphragmatic aspect. Proper example of diaphragmatic tension observed in Actors is given by Stanislavisky and Lee Strasberg.
So moving further, when it comes to relaxation aspect, i'll give you a short exercise on relaxation that actually demonstrates our motive. It's better if you perform this exercise in a group of people. You guys can either stand in a
Like for example, recently I watched a theatrical play, and was so amazed by the character's performance, I stared to make my own path/trajectory as to how the character was walking. Or maybe a tournament where the athlete's speed, movement made me WOO..!!!
You now need to imagine these things and revolving around the patch thinking how the character or athlete had behaved, what was his speed, accuracy of movement! That's how it will make you clear of the movement involved either fast, slow, rigid, free flow! How tension is acted in your body through movement either fast, slow, rigid, free flow etc.
Perform this exercise for at least 15-20 minutes to give yourself variations, also while revolving around you can actually add tasks to yourself, maybe a speech, monologue or any sound produced through yourself.
Always keep in mind, that when an actor needs to perform, or give appearance of reality, he cannot just pretend or make believe that he is actually performing on stage. It needs to be natural in every possible aspect. Audience doesn't really have the track of an Actor's mindset, but when accomplished he/she should make the utmost use of it. The effort to relax should not be entitled to only stage, relaxation should be practiced every time and everywhere. You should be able to recognize your tension points, located in your body and try to comfort them.
Supposingly, an Actor has a crooked back or maybe has tension in his leg will enter on stage with a stiff, 'artificial' stagey walk! An inflexible spine will definitely affect the back area or maybe shoulders or arms. Tension can even settle into fingers or palm portion making it rigid or clumsy. And these factors might contribute to something that is known as stage fright. Stage fright can demotivate or lower down your way of actual performance and posses weakness.
When arriving on stage, he should take ample amount of time to relax, prepare for himself/herself mentally or physically. Muscles around the eyes needs to be relaxed, followed by nose, jaws, mouths,forehead, should all be properly relaxed before applying makeup. These portions or areas need to be free and durable so as to project your expressions on stage. One such exercise one can attempt to do so is laying flat on ground or floor and just observe the areas of tension, you'll actually feel the urgency of relaxing and making the area block free. Also you can experiment the same when you are on beach, just relax on a muddy, wet ground soaking up the sun and lowering your body. By doing this you'll actually feel the areas of tension like the back ribs, spine, shoulders, back of knees. Just Calm down and relax yourself.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
Also before a stage performance one can actually, start identifying tension consciously from toe and go way up to the neck, tightening your neck and lung muscle making it stiff and rigid. Then gradually relax or lower yourself down. Most animals too have this innate quality of actually relaxing themselves, we as a human should learn how they actually unfolds themselves specifically dogs and cats when they are on a bed or pillow.
Photo by Lenin Estrada on Unsplash
A cat as an animal is the best thing to observe, where a human uses all his muscles and strength to perform a task. Cats will leave every part of her body and will only make use of those areas that are in contact with each other. When a cat walks there is no unnecessary movement or anything sloppy. When she actually sits back on her haunches and paws playfully, at a piece of string, her back shoulders, haunches and hind legs are completely balanced and relaxed. Only the paw that is in movement will be in action, and other paw until ready to strike will flex relax and then reflex to a certain amount and thus will consume her energy in to it. As far as I am concerned, we must observe every animal, the way they behave, resonate to things and react in an environment, they surely have a great sense of relaxing things on there own terms.
Alright, so after a long discussion and the insight towards it. Now lets move forward to the 7 types of relaxation based situations and how as an actor needs to work on it.
1) Well this situation exercise is predominantly termed as the Jellyfish state or being Spineless. You can perform this exercise with your friends or theatre group where everyone needs to make movement just like that of a jellyfish, completely flexible, no tension in body, no rigidity and no control on it. In this situation you will have no energy and so no movement, consider the example of a drunken person who has less of energy and so does not have confined movement and lays on the ground with same position. Even you need to stay at rest in this situation.
Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash
2) Alright, in this situation you have 10% of energy and moreover you feel fatigue. Consider the example when you are suddenly awake from your sleep, you are conscious in this stage but you don't really give to much of efforts to your task. You gradually one by one tend to achieve a task! imagine yourself in front of a sea shore where you actually rest in peace and have very minimum energy, you are carried away with the environment and the thoughts. You feel relaxed and use less energy. This stage will be termed as Less Energy.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
3) Third stage is the German walk or Robotic body language, in this situation you are only concerned with your task, you don't feel like getting indulged in any such activities which is not in your syllabus. Here in this state you are obliged to do a certain set of task which has a particular set pattern and has nothing else to do. You only devote yourself for one particular thing at a time and nothing else. You got to do a robotic movement altogether.
4) Active stage is the fourth level of relaxation stage, wherein you got to have an active superfluous form of life. Here in this stage your movements need to be quick,normal or energetic. Also you can term it as Actor's walk. You tend to be working normal.
5) So this stage you can say, as if you are in situation where a bomb is being implanted in your nearby area, and you tend to panic, run haphazardly or feel an adrenaline rush in yourself upon knowing this fact. Think as if a troop of people maybe or outside this 4 walls are waiting to mob you or either kill you. Or consider that a cyclone or any natural calamity is going to hit you unknowingly and you get the vibes of such situation. How will you react or reciprocate to this fictitious situation, something which maybe/or maybe not gonna happen and how will you react to it! So we feel hyper and quick,rush displacement takes place.
6) Now, you are aware and there is a confirmation that yes a bomb is planted and its gonna hit us within seconds. The way you will react, your movement will have the chaos, the urgency to evacuate from this situation. Your displacement from a stationery position to super active position will now be observed. Now you are actually getting affected through the cyclone or any natural calamity and you somehow try to safeguard yourself from it.
Photo by Marco Lastella on Unsplash
7) In this situation you are now affected from an external factor which now results in death of human body. In short now you are in this stage where you are dead no senses are at work. Now you don't really have the track of the surrounding as nothing around you is visible, you have lost the track of being attentive to the situation. When you'll practice this scenario time taken will be hardly 4-5 minutes. And maximum time will be taken in the first slot where you are like a jelly fish!
So here was an insight on relaxation technique that can be preferably used to remove tension points and body and help nurture your performance and make it more realistic in every sense. To emote more emotions in a broader way.
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