assesment 1-

To define physical theatre is not possible it is movement from impulse a method of expressions to show feelings using pedestrian, stylised or neutral impulses. Prior to exploring the genre of physical theatre my preconceptions were that it was more dance, as with drama you don’t have to have physical movements but dance it is purely based upon physical movements with perhaps a little story behind it. After realising the prominence of a storyline inspired by movement as DV8 says it is not necessary to label it. The method is what really surprising it was the ability to separate yourself and overcoming inhibitions. Other features is the things we don’t see like the journey the performer goes through, the process of forming relationships, the setting, background and emotions. “It is the performers live body more than spoken text which gives theatre its defining identity” which means it’s the body’s meaning as it walks through a space it is what the body says to the audience. It’s not important to use aural as there is more tension and atmosphere without spoken words. In addition it is not important how the piece looks but how it got there through exploration and play.

It is clear the term hybrid character applies to physical theatre; Ana Sanchez-Colberg implies that “The term itself – ‘physical theatre’ – denotes a hybrid character and is testimony to its double legacy in both avant-garde theatre and dance. (Sanchez-Colberg 1996, p40) I agree with this as physical theatre is about the formation of characters using dance like movement. The two different styles are the main factors within physical theatre However Jacques lecoq feels that we should also acknowledge the other theatrical forms that are contained within physical theatre such as French mime, circus or street performance which are all popular performance styles. Lecoq is expressing that you don’t have to be able to dance or act to do physical theatre its just a combination of performance elements and styles not defined, I feel that Sanchez-Colberg is limited in her definition of physical theatre and it is a broader spectrum.

Forbidden theatre “consists of theatre professionals who enjoy creating work collaboratively and sharing the creative processes with audiences” I have looked closer at them as they have a real sense of play and don’t focus on a pretty performance. There style complements what I have begun to understand of physical theatre their aim is to focus on the techniques that are used when making a piece, their workshops they practise how to create moods and atmosphere, forbidden theatre is the definition of physical theatre as they “take the audience down an unforgettable journey by using our only essential performance tool: ourselves”. This is the key element to how they perform they are very visual and have very stylised pieces. Interestingly they look close at the practitioners such as Stanislavskiy, Brecht, Lecoq and apply a practical approach to their theories; they have the elements and background which make up physical theatre.


bibliography

http://www.dv8.co.uk/
http://www.forbidden.org.uk/
http://www.phyiscaltheatre.com/


Keefe,j & Murray,s Physical theatre:2007- A critical reader London routledge
Murray,S Jaques Lecoq:2003-Routledge performance practitioners

David Jackson