Improvisation in Rehearsal E-Book

John Abbott

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

John Abbott, author of The Improvisation Book, explains how theatre directors at every level can use improvisation in the rehearsal room. Foreword by Mark Rylance. Packed with useful exercises and improvisation scenarios, and examples from a wide variety of plays, Improvisation in Rehearsal reveals how improvisation enriches and enlivens the creation of characters, back-stories, relationships, shared histories and emotional lives. The book also demonstrates how improvisation can be used as a powerful tool in the foundation of a strong company, and when searching for the hidden depths and dynamics in a scene. Building on his own experience as an actor, director and teacher, Abbott writes with clarity and an infectious enthusiasm which will motivate directors to try the techniques for themselves. As Mark Rylance says in his Foreword, this book 'will inspire and delight its readers'. 'Improvisation can be used as part of the creative process of rehearsing a play. It can be a fabulous tool for exploration and discovery. It can strengthen the actor's commitment to their character. And it can create an environment of confidence and spontaneity.' 'Essential reading... full of useful exercises and improvisation scenarios... Abbott knows what he's talking about and has a gift for expressing himself in straightforward, clutter-free language' - The Stage

Leseprobe

John Abbott

IMPROVISATION

IN REHEARSAL

Foreword by Mark Rylance

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Foreword by Mark Rylance

Author’s Note

Introduction

1     Preparation

2     Research

3     Background Improvisations

4     Preparing a Character

5     Developing a Character

6     Relationships

7     Centre of Attention

8     Sense Memory

9     Creating a History

10   Preparing to Rehearse

11   Developing a Scene

Epilogue

Appendix

Copyright Information

For Jane

Foreword

by Mark Rylance

WHEN I TRAINED TO BE AN ACTOR IN THE LATE SEVENTIES my favourite class took place on Friday afternoon with Ben Benison of Theatre Machine: improvisation. It was always unexpected and magical, and I learnt the crucial lesson, applicable to all other disciplines, and still essential to every moment on the stage: whatever the other actor offers you, you first say ‘yes’. ‘Yes’, even if your answer is ‘no’.

You must receive what is given. Harder than you would think; many actors fake it. I have caught myself faking it without knowing it. Actually, it is all you have to do. Certainly all you have to prepare to do backstage and the cure for all stage disease, rot and stagnation.

I had arrived from the Midwest of America, aged eighteen, my head in the clouds of fears and fantasy about the precise technique of English acting. I thought everything should be sealed and delivered to an audience and to your fellow actors, precise, repeated, controlled, planned. Improvisation was for amateurs and besides, it was terrifying and extremely vulnerable.

To my great surprise, the best teachers at RADA were interested in life! Spontaneous, unplanned, imprecise, uncontrolled, unrepeatable life! And the place that this happened most of all was when we improvised. Yes, it was still terrifying and vulnerable. I fell in love with it.

I believe all rehearsals, all playing, benefits from a spirit of improvisation. Spontaneous life is what I want to hear and see when I witness acting. I want to experience people who are really lost, confused and vulnerable. Trust is required and improvisation builds this trust and presence.

I think I first met John Abbott above a betting shop in Brixton where I was planning to raise a storm in a stone circle and needed a king to climb through a maze of yellow school desks in search of his lost son. Something like that. John was the king of that Stone Circle Tempest, generous, joyous, patient, committed on all levels. I can still see him looking out over yellow fields of rape, castle embankments, and the concrete foundations of Sam Wanamaker’s Globe Theatre Project, searching for his drowned child.

Later we celebrated his fiftieth birthday reading and discussing Moby Dick over many weeks. That work never grew into the production we had imagined. Our lives took us onto distant oceans, pursuing our individual white whales.

John helped me to create the sonnet walks between Westminster Abbey and the Globe Theatre, inspiring audiences and actors with his wonderful street-theatre creations. Recently we spent a lovely St George’s Day watching his students follow in his footsteps along the Thames.

I’m not surprised that John has found such joy teaching young actors. He delights in theatre and I’m sure this, his second book on improvisation, will inspire and delight its readers into a spontaneous ‘Yes!’

Author’s Note

ISTARTED OUT AS AN OBSESSIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC AMATEUR (The Sunbury Sofisticats); trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama (George Hall, Cicely Berry, Litz Pisk); plunged into the dying days of repertory theatre (Agatha Christie, Salad Days); caught the tail-end of black-and-white television (Z Cars, Softly Softly); got involved in the birth of the London fringe (The Half Moon, The Gate); became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (Richard II, The Taming of the Shrew); settled into a comfortable career of TV (Dr Who, Emmerdale Farm, Trial and Retribution); made a few films (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Young Poisoner’s Handbook) and commercials (too numerous to mention); made enough money to buy a house and raise two kids – and eventually I got a proper job as an acting teacher.

My knowledge of rehearsal techniques has been influenced by the many directors I worked with. My thanks go out to the following:

Malcolm Everett, who introduced me to the joy of putting on a show (The Sunbury Sofisticats).

Peter Oyston, who showed me how to explore the depths of a character (Central School of Speech and Drama).

Guy Sprung, who was the first person to ask me to improvise a scene (The original Half Moon Theatre in Allie Street).

Christopher Sandford, who asked me and a group of actors to create a whole play through improvisation (T.I.E. at The Duke’s Playhouse, Lancaster).

Simon Oates, who gave me the best instruction ever on how to play a love scene: ‘For f**k’s sake, John, stop acting. Just stand there, look at her and say the lines’ (Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham).

John Barton, who proved that academia and theatrical flare are brilliant bedfellows (The Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon).

Andrew Dallmeyer, who tore the third wall to shreds and taught me how to genuinely mystify an audience (The Elusive Theatre Company, anywhere and everywhere).

Lou Stein, who made his actors behave as if a grubby room above a pub was the National Theatre (The Gate Theatre, Notting Hill).

Jonathan Moore, who introduced me to anarchy in the theatre (The New London Actors).

Mike Alfreds, who proved that life on stage is more important than a perfectly honed machine (The Cambridge Arts Theatre).

Mark Rylance, who is the master of research, experimentation, originality and truth (Phoebus Cart Theatre Company).

And Jane Harrison, who showed me that teaching all this is a massively rewarding occupation for an older man (The School of Acting, ArtsEd).

I want to thank Nick Hern, for his confidence in me and I also want to thank all his dedicated and charming staff. Most importantly thanks to Matt Applewhite, who has yet again helped me to get a book into shape and onto the shelves.