After the fun of last week, we were excited to get back for our second rehearsal this morning. Since we had an introduction to the story that the group would be adapting in the first session, this week our focus was all about characters and looking at different ways we could tell the story.
We first got the group warmed up with a variety of physical games. Our favourite was the shape game, where the group have to work together to create a shape or image using just their bodies. We started out simple, with shapes like a square or a triangle, before getting more complex (create an underwater kingdom or an evil forest). The group did very well working together to create different pictures.
We then did a longer exercise which involved acting out a walk. Everyone has to pretend they are walking to the shops, but on the way things happen that change the way you walk. For instance, it starts to rain but you don't have an umbrella. Next there is a thunderstorm, followed by strong wings, followed by heavy snow and finally complete darkness. The purpose behind the activity was to get the group thinking about how they walk and how what might be happening affects that. This will be useful for them in a few weeks when we work on characters.
During the break today we recapped what we had learned last week and went over the story again for those who weren't able to be there. We also tested everyone to see which characters and important plot points everyone could remember. Again, the group expressed how desperate they are for their characters, but it's still not time for that just yet!
After the break we played a quick game of 'what are you doing?' to get everyone warmed up and ready to perform. We had some funny scenes this week ranging from deep sea diving to trying to catch the moon. After that it was time for some acting!
We split the group into two teams; each was given a scene to work on. In this scene, Wendy meets Peter Pan for the first time when he comes looking for his shadow, which she kindly sews back onto him. Both groups made very different versions of the scene and it was fun to feedback on each other afterwards, saying which aspects of the other scene each group liked.
Finally, in the same teams we created a series of still images, or tableus, which told the story of Peter Pan. The teams were given one minute to create a still image of a given section of the story and had to freeze in whatever position they were in once time was up. There were some very lovely still images created, from meeting Peter Pan, to Wendy telling the Lost Boys a story, to the adventure through the forest and the final showdown between Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
Once again, we had a fantastic time with the group. This week it was great to see them get stuck into some more acting exercises and coming up with some wonderful ideas. Next week we are going to be looking at some physical theatre and how some of the different characters, especially the non-human ones, move. It should be lots of fun! Bring comfy things to wear! As always, please enjoy some random snaps from the session:
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