Nick Malakhow

Curriculum and methods seminar

Prof. Diane Anderson

8/29/05

A three-week workshop on the fundamentals of Rasa Boxes and Performing Emotions

Important Note for the Reader:

The central exercise of this unit is an acting exercise called Rasa Boxes. It is derived from Indian theatrical texts. Rasa Boxes are a grid of nine squares drawn on the ground in the performance/classroom space. Each box is assigned an emotion (or bhava): anger (raudra), disgust (bibhatsa), love (sringara), grief (karuna), strength (vira), happiness (hasya), awe (adbhuta), fear (bhayanaka), and a box for peace in the center. These labels are merely the most fundamental way to describe the boxes, but each emotion can be broken down to mean different things for different students. For example, love is not simply romantic love; it can be parental love, love for one’s self, love for a friend, etc. In each box, students are supposed to become overwhelmed with the emotion of the box and should not step into the boxes unless they are ready to. This overwhelming sensation is to manifest itself in a pose which essentializes to emotion. The boxes can be used for work on plays and scenes.

Overall Goal of this Workshop:

-Students will experience and understand the importance of physical and vocal training in even the most understated of stage performances, and will apply this knowledge to working with both solo text and the kinds of scene composition exercises we have done in the remainder of the class.

Mini Milestones/Landmark Goals:

-To have students see the physical and psychological fluidity of transitioning from one emotion to the other; to have them see where facial expressions and body poses of different emotions are similar to one another

-To move students away from thinking about how to enact an emotion onstage and getting hung up; the exercises will simply force them to make a physical decision at the spur of the moment.

-To help students see how whole-body physicality is vital in stage expressiveness, seeing as smaller facial expressions won’t necessary read to an audience.

-To help students see how the meaning of a line of text can change drastically with different inflection and stress.

-To help students increase their trust in themselves to make choices, as well as their trust in their peers and teachers to respect their work

How this Will Be Assessed:

-Students will not be assessed on the “quality” of their acting. In Acting and Improv students receive a score from 1-4 of their participation for the day. They receive a 4 if they participate in the exercises and discussions in class on a given day, regardless of how “good” their work is, so long as they actually attempt to complete the exercises. For this workshop, students will be graded on their participation in (1) creating the boxes themselves, (2) coming up with consistent individual poses and breathing patterns for each, (3) being able to repeat these poses and breathing patterns, (4) their willingness to complete the accompanying exercise involving text, and (5) their incorporation of the techniques we practice into short scenes.

Week One:

Day 1 (60 minutes) – During this class, we will complete some exercises centered around expressing emotions and stereotypical ways in which we see emotions performed in movies, tv, and on the stage.

-physical warm up: student-led; instructor will supplement with extra warm-ups if necessary

-Each student will be given a card with state of mind on it (sad, happy, frustrated, angry, furious, perplexed, exhausted etc.) and will be challenged to walk in and sit down in a chair and have students guess what emotion they are embodying. After each try, students will guess the emotion and we’ll take a majority vote and see if we’re correct. We will also discuss each students work based on the following questions: “What about the student’s facial expression makes us think they’re embodying a particular emotion? The breathing? What they’re doing with their body?

-Next, students will do the same activity again with shuffled “states of mind.” This time, students will wear masks (preferably with neutral faces); and will be challenged to, again, try and convey a particular emotion.

-After this activity, we will get together and have a discussion based on questions like: When was it easier to guess, with or without the mask? Why? What was challenging about not wearing the mask and having to make an emotion? What was challenging about wearing it?

Day 2 (45 minutes) – During this class we might need to finish the previous day’s activities to make sure all students get to go (the entering with a state of mind). We will also discuss the importance of physicality to acting and will introduce ourselves to the bhavas.

-student led warm-up

-we will finish any entrances that need to be finished and will reiterate some of the points we discussed yesterday.

-the instructor will then hand out a worksheet with the bhavas and their definitions, and will explain what each of them are. While going through them, the instructor will ask the students to repeat the Sanskrit names. After all of the explanations, students will repeat all the names without instructor help (altogether).

-the instructor will also stress that, even though this exercise draws on ancient Sanskrit texts, it is not an Indian acting exercise; it is one developed by Western performance theorists.

-The instructor will then take out 9 pieces of butcher paper to put in the grid of squares taped out on the floor. Each piece of paper will have the Sanskrit names and an English translation written on them. Students will be asked to take markers and just take the time to write down words, pictures, or symbols that come to mind when they think of these emotions. They will not be assigned to particular squares, but they need to write or draw at least 4 things in each box. All students will have different color markers, so that the instructor may note their participation.

Day 3 (45 minutes) – Today we will start working in the boxes that we created the other day by simply coming up with poses that embody emotions.

-student-led warm up.

-We will finish writing associations in the boxes, if necessary.

-We will begin working in the boxes by coming up with poses for each emotions. Students will be told for now that these are simply static “statues” and to not make noises or breathe in the poses yet. The instructor will clap students in and out of the boxes. They will get 5 tries in each box to come up with a pose. It must be something that they can remember and repeat throughout the unit.

-Students will then, one-by-one demonstrate their poses to everyone, with the instructor clapping them from box to box. They will all move directly from box to box. If students feel nervous about going, the instructor will go first.

-We will wrap up class with a short discussion: Which were the easiest poses to create? The most difficult? Can you think of reasons why?

-Students will be asked to think about the following question for homework: how does our breathing change for various emotions? Think of what the breathing pattern sounds like for each of the emotions we’ve worked on.

WEEK TWO:

Day 4 (60 minutes) – Today, students will complete their emotion statues by adding noises and breathing for each emotion.

-student-led warm up

-Students will gather around the boxes and the instructor will ask them to look at the box in front of them and think of the breathing they came up with for this box for homework.

-We will go around and each student will briefly demonstrate the breathing pattern for the box in front of them, with the instructor beginning to give students an idea of what they should present to the class.

-We will begin work on adding breathing to the static poses they created. They will be asked not to consciously thinking of making noise (i.e. don’t start making the sounds of sobbing for the “grief” box, rather focus on the breath and some noise will organically come).

Make sure students understand that they may step out whenever needed, because the excessive breathing called for can sometimes make people light-headed or faint

-As we did before, the instructor will clap students in and out of the boxes. They will have three tries in each box to establish a breathing pattern that they can repeat.

-After going through 4 boxes, we’ll take a water break.

-We will finish going through the boxes, incorporating breathing.

-The instructor will briefly clap all students through the boxes, asking them to see if they can incorporate sound that comes from the breathing they’re doing.

-Now we will focus on one important aspect of Rasa Boxes – making the transitions between boxes quick and sudden. Outside of the boxes, the instructor will ask students to get on their haunches and jump back and forth. This is to get the transition action as energetic as possible. The instructor will also stress that it is important to actually jump from box-to-box because students must keep their energy activated to perform onstage.

-Finally, all students will get in front of a box and everyone will cycle around the whole grid twice. The instructor will clap, indicating when to change, and they will just be asked to focus on the poses and breathing and noises, instead of when they are going to have to shift.

-We’ll wrap up class with a brief discussion similar to our originally discussion of the poses: which emotions are easiest to ‘inhabit?’ Which are the most difficult? Why? Does it have to do with the breathing pattern being difficult to repeat? Is it because the emotion seems difficult to relate to? Might thinking about the emotion in a different way be helpful (for example, if you’re having a difficult time thinking of “love,” are you just thinking of romantic love? Could you think of love for a family member or friend?)

Day 5 (45 minutes) – Today we will begin to incorporate the use of text in the Rasa Boxes.

-student-led warm up.

-We will “drill” everyone’s Rasa Box poses again by the instructor clapping everyone through all the boxes twice again.

-Water break.

-Students will be asked to pick lines of text out of a hat. These lines will be particularly vague so that they may take on many meanings, i.e. “I didn’t mean to do it,” “I’m sorry,” “I hope you’re happy,” “Let’s just forget this all happened,” etc. They will take these lines and jump from box to box, saying the line in each box. They will be asked to see how the breathing and sound in each box changes their reading of the line. The instructor will reiterate that the line should not be the same length in each box; it could take as little as 2 seconds in one box, and as long as a minute (an exaggeration) in others.

-Students will line up behind the boxes and everyone will take turns going in the boxes one at a time. The instructor will not clap them through. The stream of students will be somewhat continuous, so there will be about two students at a time in the boxes.

-The instructor will emphasize particular students who used the exercise well.

-After all students have “Rasa-ed” their lines of text, we will have a discussion based on questions like: What changes in a line when you take it through different emotions aurally? How does our interpretation of the line change? Can you give specific examples of how a line changes? (i.e. “I hate you” said with sadness might come out weak and powerless, whereas if it was said in the anger box it would come out much more forceful)

-Finally, students will begin reacting to one another in the boxes. Two students at a time will have a Rasa Box “face-off” in which they enter various boxes to see how different emotions affect them and make them want to go to different boxes. One student will begin by going into a box and the other person will have to react to their choice. The students will then continue to play off each other, reacting to one another’s emotional shifts (i.e. if the person goes into anger, that might make the person afraid and jump into the fear box, then the second student’s fear might make the first student change to disgust, etc.). One student will exit and another will enter on an A-B, B-C, C-D, D-E basis.

-We will discuss whether or not this exercise provided any insight into how people react to one another onstage. Did looking at someone who was, for example, really upset and lonely make you want to be their strength and go into the strength box?

Day 6 (45 minutes) – We will finish up our work interacting with one another in the boxes and will begin to read stories to act out for a final project.

-student-led warm up

-We will practice jumping again just to get everyone’s energy up.

-We will culminate our work in the actual boxes by performing the Rasa Box “face off” game again. This time, the instructor will assist more from the “sidelines” and won’t tag a performer out if they are just lazily sliding around.

-Finally, the instructor will introduce the final exercise for the trimester. Students will dramatize a story using various exercises, techniques, and elements we’ve explored throughout the trimester. The class as a whole will dramatize a story. Students will be separated into three groups, and will separate the story into three chunks and work on each chunk.

-The instructor will hand out packets with stories. In class, we will read three Greek myths aloud: Echo and Narcissus, Orpheus and Eurydice, and the story of Ixion.

-For homework, students will have to choose a story they want and propose how it could be separated into three even parts.

WEEK THREE

Day 7 (60 minutes) – Today we’ll decide what story to act out and will divide it into 3 equal parts. Students will then begin work on these stories in small groups, given performance parameters.

-student-led warm up

-We will go around and see if there is consensus about what story to work on.

-If there is not a unanimous decision, we will take a majority vote.

-We will then look at the story and ask ourselves: Is there a clear beginning, middle and end? Where do we find those? Are they three equal parts? If not, how can we divide it so it’s three equal parts?

-By the end of this discussion, we should have divided the story into three parts.

-The instructor will explain the final assignment: students will be divided into small groups and will be required to dramatize a portion of the story. In your dramatization, you must (1) create at least one environment using pantomime, (2) use at least 3 poses/breathing patterns from the Rasa Boxes exercise, (3) everyone must inhabit at least two different character bodies that are noticeably not like their own, and (4) you may incorporate one line of text and one prop/set piece.

-Students will count off by 3’s to get in their groups, and will have the remainder of class to brainstorm ideas for acting out the story.

Day 8 (45 minutes) – Today, students will have the entire period to work on their theatrical compositions. They will receive instructor assistance whenever needed, and the instructor will also notify students when time is running short on the class.

-Everyone will warm-up together in an instructor-led warm up.

-The instructor will ask students to reiterate the necessary elements of their theatrical compositions.

-Students will assemble in their small groups, and begin work on their projects in different sections of the space. The instructor will circulate around the room, asking students if they need assistance and making sure they are staying on task. Students will have to actually physically get up and start practicing actions about 25 minutes into class, if they haven’t already.

-The instructor will notify students when the period is over and will mention that they will have time to finalize/rehearse their projects at the beginning of the next class.

Day 9 (45 minutes) – Students will finalize and present their final projects to the rest of the class.

-instructor-led warm up.

-students will have approximately 10 minutes to work on their projects and finish rehearsing them.

-Student groups will present their projects. All will present in a row and then the class will get into a circle afterwards.

-The teacher will facilitate a discussion based on the following questions: What were the three environments we saw created? How did we know it was these particular environments? What were the three emotions we saw included in these scenes? Were they appropriately placed? Overall, was their inclusion in the scene helpful to you as actors, or did it feel forced to have them included as a requirement?