Lecoq: The Unmasking - L'Ouragon

 We were promised the unmasking this week. I'm psyched.

Monday:

In movement class, we worked again with fixed points. This time it was partner work, so the two would alternate. One would create the fixed point, and another would move across the fixed point, see a new space, then create another fixed point. Each time, always at lease one fixed point. I worked with Remi today, and I'm getting better at seeing new spaces after fixed points. She's very stretchy. Next we did it in threes, with Mykola and Morteza. These are good and fast movers, and we ended the exercise looking in the same direction and walking off like comic strip ninjas. We then substituted one person out for a chair, so two persons and a chair, still working on fixed point. And then lastly 7 people, all moving with at least one fixed point.

In the unmasking we began with earth, molding clay, being in clay, then being clay. There is first a resistance as we dig into the clay, and perhaps it breaks off, perhaps it yields. As we throw it to the ground, how does the splat resound in our body? From walking, we slowed down to a halt, growing roots into the ground as we plant ourselves. Then our branches rise up. The wind comes. When we uproot ourselves to walk, how does the tree organize itself? Does the tree run? The contrast of earth in our bodies and wind in our arms was stark, and we had this image of an autumn wind rustling the leaves as the tyre swing swung lazily. Towards the end, we did a short improv being trees, then lowering our arms as we mount our presence back to being humans. Transposition of des elements to the corps. We worked without the mask today, but as though we were under the mask. Sous-masque.

Autocour is delightful with the hurricane. We're not doing le bateau, which is really really sad, but we already found two organic images. I hope we keep working to create images.

In LEM, we worked on equilibrating the plateau. We start with the hero walking into the middle of the platform. How does he wear the space? His presence should fill the space. The center isn't the geometric center, but rather, a feeling. He needs to keep the center alive and breathing. When the time is right and the plateau is in disequilibrium, someone else hops in to equilibrate it. It continues, until someone makes a marked choice to alter the platform. As the numbers increase, it becomes easier to simply react to where the leader goes in one movement, and not think too much or readjust. If the platform is in equilibrium, great, if not, someone else takes care of it. That way, we never fall into geometrical shapes that seem boring on stage.


Tuesday:

Movement class today was essentializing and agrandir (enlarge). We started with tete-basin-plexus, so the head looks, the hips follow, and then the plexus. Don't forget the breath! And we worked with bleeding one movement into the next, never isolating each movement - that's too robotic. When the ocean arrives on the beach and recedes, is there a pause? The movement never stops. Then we essentialized the movement, then made it bigger, and then on the intake and the outtake of the breath. If I breathed in on the head, and out with the rest of the body, it was like I saw something with a breath of fresh air, and then made the decision for my body to follow. The other way makes it seem like there is a lag time before my body follows, although the intake of breath for the body makes it seem big.

After that, we did undulation, essentialized it, and then enlarged it to the point of disequilibrium. I am reminded of the need to be bigger as I dis-equilibrate. And stay big as I recover my equilibrium. No more coming back to myself during movement. Then essentializing this aggrandisement into minimum movements. How do we expand the interior as we minimize the exterior? Onwards with the mindfuckery.

In the unmasking, we worked on l'air. The air. The spring breeze. Neither hot, nor cold, nor humid, nor dry. Suspension. We found strong winds in the valley, sea breeze, air from a dryer. 11 bodies in the space, attempting to fly. This is why I came to Lecoq. After, we found air on fire, Pierre, Rodrigo and Han Jie running in the space like the fiery animals they are. Some bodies have fire in them, and these three have tons of it. Finally we got to the hurricane. Jonas, Barbara and Anna spinning and turning in the space. It spins, yes, but does the hurricane counter-spin? It goes! A little iff-y, trying to embody the eye of the hurricane. There we don't see the eye, we see you. And again. It's not just the bodies, we embody the hurricane, the sea breeze with the space in between. Surprisingly, this was the first time the professional course linked to LEM. In the end, we got to see again Yasuyo's imagery: We have a bench in the park - I'd like 3 winds to exist. So we did. Now I'd like 3 winds to wait. Winds waiting indeed. How does the wind slide on the bench, and slide off, leaving it untouched? Breeze caresses, and rarely forces. And this is how we found ourselves in the beginning of a poem.

In autocour we spent the whole day on the opening image as the circus tent. 0 work on imagery, but perhaps we will do them later. I think the whole team wants the location set before doing anything else. Needless to say, I'm unhappy. Then again, I'm not in the right mood today, and we have to work as a team.

Wednesday:

In movement class today we found the ferryman to Hades. We stand perpendicular to the boat at the back, placed the oar behind us and did the figure of eight. Tirez, glissez, poussez, glissez. With fixed points of course. And don't forget to look where we're going!

In the unmasking we did 4 cataclysms. Needless to say, my note was to tien even when I'm breathing hard. Especially at the end. What I need to do is stick the endings. Eric showed how to give a purposeful body with presence even while breathing hard.

I turned around, the tempest swelling up behind me - a beat - before it crashed down. I flew forward, surprising myself at how far I ran. This was going to be good. As the waves crashed down into each other, so did I. The tempest swallowed me up and I was still, underwater for a split second, before struggling to reach the surface. Breathe! I surfaced and sucked in the air. How does the undercurrent affect your body? I spun and twisted, sharing my mask, and continued thrashing with the waves, lending to the image of a terrible surface. And then I was thrown onto the beach, sucked back, and then dumped unceremoniously on the beach. I looked up, ah! The tempest continues! Standing on my sea legs, I began to lean into the wind. Self check, I'm good on breath. Onwards to the second cataclysm! I'd moved wind and fire last week, and all that was left was to essentialize and have fun. Wind was smaller for me, but with wind rhythms playing out in my body. I had less fixed points in the forest, but I took the decision and took a running leap through the fire. Note to self: Play more with the fire. Only then will the fiery rhythms come to life. Mountain was difficult, but I managed to find a few fixed points as the rocks fell. At the end of the (half) voyage, I was dizzy and so out of breath. Just as I was about to close, Eric told me to stay and hold. Roots into the earth, head to the sky. Chest forward and back to the back. For a second, I was 360 degrees and more. Vaguely aware of my heaving chest, I savored the ending. What has changed?

It was a good journey. I am happy. I am a survivor. All that remained for me was the image of an encrusted diamond - the diamond shining brilliantly through the cracks. We have to take the risk, imagine, and exit the salle verte. A small taste today.

Jeremie was straighter at the end. Olga's face had changed, so did Xiao. For Ivet, the journey continued. Mykola was smiling at the end of the journey. The faces of my classmates flashed hints of calmness and beauty, seconds before they looked questioningly at Eric.

Autocour today was a delight. We cleaned up our entrance, linked images, found some more hurricane images through improv, we are in good shape. We managed to do the exercise where we were hurricane and it was hurricane in between us. The eye came, a breath, and then it went.

LEM was pretty endearing with Yasuyo. First we found the image of equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and something in between, with a chair. Next we placed two chairs on a platform and moved them one after another. They tell such cute stories. First a chair ignoring the other, then a chair chasing the other. Then we placed a person with the chairs, and worked with dis-equilibrating the space. Lastly, we grouped up and placed 5/6 chairs in the space, thinking about equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and in-between. After the scene is set, how do we enter, and where are we? What is the right time for subsequent entries?

Thursday:

We moved the elements today with Eric. Air as air particles that never ever stop, a feather that floats down from the ceiling. Water as rapids, and then the ocean. Watching a fire grow and then transposing that into our body, and essentializing it. Working the breath to create snappy motions. Do our limbs extend on the in-take or the out-take of the breath? And return. We ran the length of the grande salle at full speed, landed at the other side, and open our arms. Gasps as the air arrived, flowing in waves, over and over again. Here and there, a feather curling and twisting, then hanging suspended in the air, but never really stopping.

Time stopped as 37 bodies stopped, staring out. Eric stood in the middle of the grande salle, giving his full attention to the feather floating down. How did it get there? It didn't matter, we are here, and that matters. The journey of the feather was epic.

In the mask, we did the full 6 cataclysms. Tempest in the sea, tempest on the beach, fire in the forest, avalanche up the mountain, and then again down the mountain, then crossing a fast-flowing river, and then walking alone in the desert til the sun sets. I didn't go up, and neither did Romane, so we stayed after to perform it. During the class though, we see improvements from everyone. Pierre and Joon travelled very nicely together indeed - they were almost perfectly synced. Romane tells me I need to submit to the elements more.

We have not done the hurricane scene. Perhaps we'll improvise it tomorrow.

The rest of the day was fantastic. Thanksgiving at Anna's with her hubby Tom and le bebe Zek. Then Warhorse! The puppetry is exquisite. We discovered the choreographer who invited us, and who will also watch our autocour tomorrow. What a day!

Friday:

Acrobatics again! We did some back rolls, put a bench to block our cartwheels. 'it's psychological' said Eric. 'it's bullshit' said my brain. 'it's woooooooooooaaaah' said my body.

And with Autocour, our hurricane began but didn't happen. But that's OK because we knew we didn't construct it. We found how other teams constructed it, though - we saw Han Jie flying through the hurricane as the other masks gazed up at her. She dropped down, surviving the fall - of course she did - as the hurricane slowly descended. We saw some of Sang Min's sweet acrobatic moves in the last autocour that was unmasked. Paola was pleased.

The end of this week brought me my parcel. Boys, my regime begins.