The first posting from me was from an interview I did with the folks at SLAC before I went into rehearsal – lots of stuff detailing what I thought the play was about, things I had read about Annie Baker etc.
Now we have opened so this is sort of a reflection on what really happened in the rehearsal room – well the things I can tell you anyway!
Of course all the actors knew what they were likely to encounter in rehearsals for a play set in a creative drama class where all the characters are playing theatre games pretty much all the time.
When I talk about games, I’m referring to all forms of theatre exercises which are unscripted (or have a very simple text). They range from games that feel very much like the ones we played as children, tag and “I went to the store and I bought” to more complex Meisner or Viewpoints exercises.
At the outset one actor told me that “in the interests of full disclosure” – he (or she I’m trying hard to keep this 
anonymous) “really hated theatre games!” Another actor then confessed he (or she) kind of did too. There were only five actors so I was getting a little nervous at this point. Of course I needn’t have worried, consummate professionals all, they threw themselves, often literally, into hours worth of word games, concentration exercises and improvised dinner parties. There is no doubt that theatre games (although boy does this cover a lot of territory) simply appeal more to some actors than others. However two other factors play a significant part in this, at least they certainly do for me. The first is my fear that I am somehow going to be judged on my creativity and quick wits and found wanting. I won’t be clever enough, spontaneous enough, witty enough – whatever! The irony is that most theatre games require a focused willingness to “see what happens” which is directly at odds with an approach focused on outcomes.
The other frustration comes, I think, from students and professional actors being asked to play games which they can see absolutely no point to! In CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION the characters experience hours (the audience just sees a few minutes) of lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling attempting to count up to 10, not knowing whose turn it is but aiming not to say a number at the same time as someone else. By the times Lauren says “I don’t get it. I don’t get what the point is ….what is the point of counting to 10” the audience is right there with her – “Yeah teacher tell us why we have to do this.” Fortunately Marty really does have a plan and explains that “the point is being able to be totally present. To not get in your head and second guess yourself. Or the people around you.”
This exercise belongs in the company of a whole range of exercises that are about trying to sense the will of the group, of the people around you and then either do something simultaneously, in sequence or simply in response to others. We did lots of exercises in rehearsal which cultivated this awareness – of silence, breathing, the movements and pauses of the others in the room, the movement patterns and the spatial groupings that occurred. Quite a lot of our time was spent developing this kinesthetic awareness and in this we used mostly Viewpoints work, a system utilized by Anne Bogart and the SITI Company but of course there are a range of methods that foster these skills. The increased familiarity with specific theatre games, the improvisational skills and the sense of ensemble that developed through the actors’ game playing in rehearsal is certainly evident in their performances.
We played most of the games you see in the play and then a lot more besides. Not the secrets game though – we are all still speaking to each other! Playing things like the story game, a game where you listen to some one tell you about his or her life and then report this life back to the group was a great experience. The level of focus was incredible - you don’t want to get anything wrong! Then when you report back to the group there’s this commitment to honoring your partner’s story (and the inevitable discovery of connections to your own life) that makes it really live for the audience.
Of course some of the exercises in the play more properly belong in the realm of psychodrama – a therapeutic technique where people investigate their relationships and conflicts through role play. In an acting class, Marty probably has no business going there, although the results certainly make for great theatre. Needless to say I avoided these in the rehearsal room.
The games in rehearsal proved to be an essential part of the preparation for the production. Playing them gave us insights into how these characters would play them within the context of the play but in addition lots of other predictably wonderful things happened too. The cast quickly became a more cohesive group, improved their sense of spatial awareness, got better at responding to a physical impulse, improved their improvisational skills, got more exercise, had more fun – all the things that theatre games are supposed to do! And the director had a blast!
CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, the 2010 Obie Award Winner for Best New American Play, plays April 13th-May 8th, 2011. Tickets available online or by calling the Box Office: 801.363.7522.
