Day 18 - Under the Feet, Above the Head

5/6/2013

Carly

Yesterday, I sent out an email asking everyone if they didn't mind preparing a one hour session each, either developing on from our scratches, or moving onto something new. We all came into the rehearsal with very different ideas.

Molly's session was first and she wanted to revisit the opening scene from the scratch. It is a domestic setting where Ted interacts with his cheeky pet fish. Molly wanted to develop this 'daily routine' motif into three repeated scenes, with each one showing various stages of the disease. This worked quite well and we captured one really nice moment when Will, who is puppeteering his right arm, drops it, so it becomes lifeless and motionless. It had a rather moving impact that wasn't too subtle, but also not horribly 'in your face'.

After Molly's session, we moved onto mine. From reading my devising books yesterday that I got from the library, I created exercises for us to get used to the puppet and to also start thinking about his manipulation. I started by leaving the puppet in the middle of the stage and asking the puppeteers to come in one by one, and start animating him. This lead into me shouting out instructions like, "discover your face...your right hand...ribs etc". This 'discovery' from the puppet was quite touching, considering I know the outcome of his fate. To watch the puppet be born and discover each limb and body part was quite captivating.

We then moved onto the puppet being in the space, moving under, over, behind, at the centre, at the edge, under the feet, above the head...The flight and freedom here given to the puppeteers, created some really stunning moments and I could see potential, especially for the imagination moments. You can find a video here, showing a snippet of the exercise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnNbaWWcnPc

We continued with exploring the puppet physically and with the puppet in the space. On a personal note, I thought, "Why are we doing this?" Here's the answer:

We need to develop the physical character of the puppet. BUT, we also need to develop a difference between the puppet in the 'external/reality' moments and the 'internal/imagination' moments.

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Little Cauliflower
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This is a blog dedicated to our Research and Development of CELL, an exploration of Motor Neurons Disease through puppetry and visual theatre.

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" MND is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper and lower motor neurones. "

"In my view, mental and physical aspects of MND go hand in glove - if one has the right frame of mind, one can almost achieve the impossible"

" I'm living with MND, not dying from it. "

" I first saw the task as one of preserving my personality, of showing the world that my mind has not gone down the tubes with my voice. If I cannot say as much as I used to say, I have to say it better. So the choice of words becomes crucial. "

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" He accepts life and works on the process of fate. What if life no longer accepts you? "

" Initial symptoms are: frequently yawning, deterioration of speech, tripping and unexpectedly dropping things. "

" I might be unlucky having MND but I think I am blessed to have the family that I have behind me. "
Mark Maddox

"I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work. This is thanks to the help I have received from Jane, my children, and a large number of other people and organisations. I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope."
Stephen Hawking

" It’s hard because I can’t even play football with the kids and I can’t do stuff that you normally do with young children." Mark Maddox

"It's been said that the care and support you receive is a bit of a postcode lottery but in my two-year journey I've met a lot of kindhearted people."

Day 18 - Under the Feet, Above the Head

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Little Cauliflower & Smoking Apples

Little Cauliflower
&
Smoking Apples