Farewell

Bye bye to this iteration of Stage Movement. This blog will now go to sleep till the next time I teach this course. Have a great summer and Fall, everyone!   ~Prof. Jenn

Here are the final performances. The lighting isn't the best and some of The Sneetches stuff was a little out of frame, sorry about that. But here it is if you want to see them!

Another Seussian Tableau

Creative Movement 2

My favorite three questions were the following:

1. Range of Movement- range of movement is the limits of oneself in terms of stretching their body to its fullest and smallest in terms of space, length, height, and mobility.  It is also a way of establishing oneself in his/her ability to be emotional available and mentally focused.  Anything can affect the range of a person, whether that is stress, illness, physical pain, etc.  The ways that a person can move in order to allow diversity is by finding that neutral standing and walking position while moving.  If an actor can be as neutral as possible then the ways in which they can change are almost unlimited.

4. Body Awareness- Throughout the process of this class I definitely feel more comfortable with most of my body.  I feel like I understand how expressive I can be with the simplest of movements.  The only thing that I still feel like I am not completely comfortable with is the physical limitations of my hamstrings.  Despite that fact I still feel like everything that has to do with movement can relate to the awareness of feeling.  For example, if you walk around the room and move with a frantic, radiant energy it will more than likely you make you feel hyper or worried or similar emotions.  If you walk around the room in a slump with potent energy it can make you feel tired or irritated.


18. Application- All of this knowledge of stage movement is crucial to my professional life and personal life.  The reasons being that as an actor, you want to be able to have as much movement ability physically, emotionally, and mentally so that you will stand apart from all of the other actors that you are competing against.  In personal life it is crucial because it allows you to figure out how other people are trying to communicate to you even if they are not saying anything to you.  It also makes it so you are aware of how you are using body language when contacting another person.  Someone might think you are being aggressive if you are puffing your chest at them.  Since I have the knowledge of that movement portraying that emotion I could make sure to change that.

Creative Movement Questions

http://sixxnine.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/project-london/

I love watching others move because I now realize all the ways that I move differently from others. I play a game while I’m at the library now to watch people and figure out which plane they move on while they are walking and what part of their body they lead with. I have discovered that some of my favorite goofy friends move with very little inhibition and that is part of why I enjoy spending time with them.

 I am able to have fun moving and investigating who I am and I have enjoyed every minute of the variety of new movement types I have been introduced to.  However, my favorite part of this class has been the privilege of getting to see more of who people are and how we can relate to each other through movement.

1.       My answer for this question is the one that has probably changed the most. Although I am still a little shy, I think that my movement more clearly expresses my feelings, philosophy and inner creative forces than it did at the beginning of the semester. I don’t naturally have a very bold movement style and I don’t necessarily stand out but my movement does mostly express who I am.

Creative Movement Questions 2

So I kept a lot of my original answers but I added in things at the end of most of them with updated thoughts at the end of the semester.

Seeing Others: For the most part I see other people move pretty fluidly. Obviously there are some people who have problems with their movement way more than the average person, but for the most part people move smoothly in regards to who they are. This semester I have noticed that more people around me move in interesting ways. I think that since I have been introduced to different movements people make I have been able to pick them out better.

Openness and Availability: For the most part I am open minded and able to try new things. There are times where I am reluctant to change my ways, but I will usually still listen to other opinions/options. This semester I have tried more new things and have opened myself up more to new friendships. Normally I am hesitant to put myself out there with new people but this semester I just decided to go for it with a couple new people and it was totally worth it.

Creative Play: Yes I am able to have fun while figuring out life. There are times when darkness creeps in but for the most part it is relatively easy to enjoy the people and things around me. As I get to know people better I find myself opening up more and not caring about trivial things. I have noticed that more people are drawn to me when I do that.

Expressiveness: It is not so easy to express myself through movement alone. I can do it but usually it takes effort if it is something I consciously want to express. Then there are other times that I wear my heart on my sleeve and it is obvious what I am feeling based on my body movements and expressions.

photo credit: Jenn Boughn

Creative Movement for Mel

1. Range in movement is how far your body can move within your own limits.  Fear, personal image, and ignorance does cause limited range in movement.  Some ways of moving would be how tall you stand, how you walk, and even what part of your body ends up leading.

2. Movement in others looks as if they can be stiff, loose, or just there.  This is seen when observing certain individuals who allow themselves to move rather than be tight all the time.  A lot of the movement I noticed is restricted to the shoulders and the torso.  The arms are a little more free and so are the legs most of the time.  The exercises that freed up the physical systems are the ones where we just walked normally and then gradually started to walk in a neutral position.  This one is also used for inhibiting the movements because of when we get into a different persons type of walk or something, it keeps us restricted.

3. I can move more neutrally so that I may show others how to walk and hopefully they will catch on so that they can have a better type of walk that works for them. If you move your shoulders inward, that cuts off communication for anyone else whereas if you held upright and were open, that would be more of an invitation for conversation.