International
Acting-Directing Laboratory 

PRACTICAL TRAINING
“Improvisation & Spontaneity in Performing Arts"

Part II. Group exercises

Methods impelling the group to spontaneous collective creative process.
Possibilities of nonverbal communication on the stage.
Emotional content and will in action.

Space and time.
Voice and movement.
Composition in the space.
Building the structure.
Structural improvisation.

During the second part of the practical training participants work with the structures. Improvisation is also developing from the simple to the complex. The exercises and tasks are organized in such a way to provide a developmental experience. They are built in complexity, always offering personal challenge but are presented in sequences that enable participants to build confidence. The tasks are structured with the balance of individual, pair, small group, larger group and whole group work. Using different patterns of the beginning, middle and end in a variety of exercises participants develop improvised scenes. Physical action and expression combined with will and creative energy can result in a vibrant story with a beginning, middle and end using just meaningless sentence. Then by simple addition of circumstance, changes of rhythm and character choices to the mix and the groups produce wonderful pieces. One of the most significant things in working with improvisations is the palette of emotional colours - as many forms, so many emotional colours. The saturated emotional content makes the movement incredibly expressive on the stage; the movement is becoming the continuation and the embodiment of thought. Each day also offers participants the opportunity to observe each other in improvised performance tasks.

Besides the creative process itself there are many exercises when participants divide into groups, work out and analyse the general rules and obstacles of creative cooperation. Thus such postulates spring out as “attention to oneself, to the partner and to the space”, “avoid fuss”, “my stamp is my enemy”, etc… This helps participants to work effectively and with awareness of the process, as well as to outline the paths of further professional development.

The training passes in close contact, the open atmosphere creates opportunity for improvisation and free interplay between participants in the group. Step by step the sense of group is developing and the cohesion is emerging. Participants are able to work spontaneously without hesitation or questioning, to invent, to accept the challenge immediately, since they have grown the trust and common creative language.

Like any act of creativity of a Human it is so hard to describe the live creative process in words properly. The atmosphere and the events happening in the group are just marvellous!

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